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Kobe Bryant statue unveiling: Shaq narrates heartwarming tribute ahead of ceremony

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Updated  February 8, 2024 12:56pm PST
Kobe Bryant
FOX 11

Kobe Bryant art experience opens in Westwood

Learn more about the immersive art experience opening in honor of Kobe Bryant and Black History Month.

LOS ANGELES - From one legend to another. 

Hours ahead of the highly anticipated Kobe Bryant statue unveiling ceremony in downtown Los Angeles outside the "House that Kobe Built," a video was released on social media showing Kobe Bryant highlights narrated by NBA icon, Shaquille O’Neal. 

For fans of the Los Angeles Lakers and across the league, the Kobe and Shaq era from 1996 to 2004 showcased some of the best and most entertaining basketball in the history of the game. 

RELATED: Kobe Bryant statue: Everything we know ahead of the big unveiling

Kobe Bryant (L) speaks with teammate Shaquille O'Neal on May 14, 2020. (MIKE FIALA/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

In the video posted by NBA on TNT, it begins by showing Bryant’s idol, Michael Jordan before shifting to showing some of Bryant’s best moments in his 20-year career. As part of honoring Bryant’s legacy, the same sculptor who designed Jordan’s statue outside Chicago’s United Center also designed his. 

"The Diesel," among numerous sports legends, also has a statue outside the Crypto.com Arena.

(Getty Images)

As O’Neal narrates, he calls Bryant the best teammate he ever had.

(Getty Images)

In the video titled "A tribute to Bean," O’Neal says the following:

"How do you get an NBA statue? You need to win. You need to change the game. You need to be monumental. Kobe Brant checks every box. Five-time champion, 18-time All-Star, the face of the Lakers for two decades. It was the most competitive flair I had ever seen and the best teammate I ever had. Now he joins basketball royalty with an official shrine in LA. Let the statue make one thing clear: Kobe Bryant is forever."

Watch below: 

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 Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal shake hands at halftime after both of Bryant's #8 and #24 Los Angeles Lakers jerseys are retired at Staples Center on December 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

The unveiling ceremony is scheduled for Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Fans will have full access to the statue on Star Plaza beginning Friday at 10 a.m.