Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade Honor Kobe Bryant in TNT Tribute

Dwyane Wade: "There was one person I wanted that respect from."

Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade paid tribute to Kobe Bryant on TNT's pregame show on Tuesday night, honoring their former teammate and opponent two days after his death. 

"We're not going to be able to joke at his Hall-of-Fame ceremony," O'Neal said to start the program. "We're not going to be able to say, 'I got five [championships], you got four.' ...We're not going to be able to stay 'if we had stayed together we would have gotten 10 [championships]. Those are the things you can't get back"

O'Neal shared that the last time he talked to Bryant was before his legendary 60-point night against the Jazz to end his career.

Shaq continued the tribute for Bryant late on Tuesday night, leading a "Kobe" chant outside Staples Center in Los Angeles.

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Wade discussed his drive to match Bryant on the floor. The three-time champion said he wanted Bryant to "look at me as an equal."

"There was one person I wanted that respect from," Wade said on TNT. "One person I wanted to look at me as an equal. And look at me eye to eye. And that was Kobe Bryant."  

Former Lakers point guard Jerry West was additionally emotional when discussing Bryant's passing. West shared memories of his decision to draft Bryant out of high school in 1996.

“He always talked about this Mamba mentality," West said on TNT. "He didn’t have to create that, it was already there.”

TNT added a final tribute to Bryant before the Heat hosted the Celtics at 7 p.m. ET.

There will never be another Kobe. pic.twitter.com/3vyRrYpP4L

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 29, 2020

Tuesday marks the third day of games since Bryant's tragic death on Sunday morning. The 76ers hosted the Warriors in the first game of the night, honoring Bryant with 33 seconds of silence. Bryant wore No. 33 at Lower Merion high school in Philadelphia. 

Bryant and O'Neal won three championships in a row together in Los Angeles from 2000-02. Wade went 11–9 against Bryant in his career, and the duo played together on the 2008 United States Olympic Team.