Shaquille O’Neal continues to honor Kobe Bryant more than five years after the Hall of Famer’s tragic death.

In an interview with PEOPLE, O’Neal revealed he reaches out to Bryant’s mother, Pamela, once a month and sends her flowers.

“I always check in on Kobe’s mom once a month, make sure she’s okay,” O’Neal said.

A Bond Forged Through Shared Loss Credit: Asbury Park Ppress-USA TODAY NETWORK

“She has been through a lot in a couple of years, and that takes a toll, and sometimes you just need somebody to just call to check on you. I kind of know what it feels like with the passing of her son, but I don’t know what it feels like to lose a son and a husband, so I’m sure she has a lot of pain that she’s dealing with,” he said, referring to the death of Kobe’s father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, in July 2024.

O’Neal revealed that Kobe would check in on the 7-footer’s parents before he died in a helicopter crash in January 2020.

O’Neal and Bryant had a tumultuous relationship while they were Los Angeles Lakers teammates for eight seasons, winning three consecutive championships. But as they grew older, they were able to squash their beef and appreciate what they meant to each other.

After Bryant’s death, O’Neal said that the two didn’t talk for a long time because both were extremely busy. He thought they had forever to see each other again.

“[I thought], ‘We’re both going to get old. We’ll both be at the 50-year Lakers anniversary,'” O’Neal told PEOPLE in 2022. “Other things shouldn’t have been more important [than getting in touch], but little things [got in the way]. You put off [getting in touch]. I’ll never get to see Kobe again, in real life, forever. And I just should have called.”

Matt Higgins worked in national and local news for 15 years. He started out as an overnight production assistant ... More about Matt Higgins