Years Before Becoming Lakers, Shaq Met Kobe Bryant in Magic Locker Room

A young Kobe met Shaq while he was playing for the Magic.
Years Before Becoming Lakers, Shaq Met Kobe Bryant in Magic Locker Room
Years Before Becoming Lakers, Shaq Met Kobe Bryant in Magic Locker Room /
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ORLANDO - Many fans on social media are celebrating August 24 as "Kobe Bryant Day."

The late Los Angeles Lakers legend who passed in 2020 has the unofficial holiday after the two numbers he wore while playing: 8 and 24. It also comes one day after his birthday, August 23.

To commemorate the occasion, Basketball News brought a Kobe story back to the surface from last year that has a tie-in with the Orlando Magic.

“True story, and Kobe never told me this until after we played: A little kid comes into the locker room in Orlando and he wants to see Penny Hardaway. It’s Kobe!” Shaq said on The Rex Chapman Show last year.

“I never knew this until Kobe told me this story. He wants to see Penny, and Penny’s not a bad guy, but I don’t know what was going on that day and he was just [like], ‘Whatever.’ And Kobe was standing there. I actually remember this day, the kid was sitting there and I grabbed him like, ‘Come on, little fella; I’ll take a picture with you!’ I never knew that kid was Kobe until he told me. We played together, had our fights and battles together, and then when we did that Lakers sit-down interview, Kobe said, ‘Hey man, you remember when I came in the locker room and wanted to see Penny and he blew me off?’ I was like, ‘That was you?!’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, that was me.’ 

Shaq played for the Magic from 1992-96 and joined Lakers in free agency the same summer the team drafted Kobe. The pair would be Lakers teammates for eight seasons, advancing to four finals and winning three NBA championships from 2000-02.


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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.