Shaquille O'Neal On His Reaction To Kobe Bryant's Death: "I’m Like, It Gotta Be A Hoax."

The death of Kobe Bryant rocked the NBA world to its core. All around the globe, millions of fans, media members, and players joined in mourning the loss of a legend.

And while time has been a great healer for many, there is no forgetting what the moment was like after Bryant's death.

For Shaquille O'Neal he described his experience in an appearance on "All The Smoke" podcast.

“I see the Kobe thing. So now I’m like, it gotta be a hoax. Because I was watching the game when Bron passed him up, probably just somebody messing around on the internet and then the calls just kept coming in and then you go watch TV. And it just hit.

It put me in a ‘I should have’ mode. I should have spent more time with my sister. I should have reached out to the young fella, I should’ve just called and just check on him, I should’ve. And you know things like that you can never get back, right?”

It was a tough moment for everyone, really, and something that nobody will ever truly forget.

Kobe was more than a player, he was an inspiration, role model, and friend to countless people, not to mention a father and husband to his wife and children.

In the end, though, when we look back on "the Mamba," it will be positive thoughts of his work ethic and life values that helped make him so famous in the first place.