Shaquille O'Neal on Kobe Bryant's Death: 'I Love You and You Will Be Missed'

Former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O'Neal shared his thoughts on social media following the death of Kobe Bryant and Bryant's daughter Gigi in a helicopter crash Sunday.

"There are no words to express the pain I'm going through now with this tragic and sad moment of losing my niece Gigi & my friend, my brother, my partner in winning championships, my dude and my homie," O'Neal wrote on Instagram of his former teammate. "I love you and you will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW !"

O'Neal discussed Bryant's death on The Big Podcast With Shaq.

"I'm not doing well. I'm sick," O'Neal said. "... I didn't want to believe it."

The city of Calabasas, California, confirmed the helicopter crash, which killed all five aboard. Bryant's representatives told TMZ Sports that Bryant's daughter died as well. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Kobe and Gianna Bryant were en route to a basketball game for her traveling team.

ESPN's Chiney Ogwumike shared the scenes outside Staples Center as Lakers fans reacted to news of Bryant's death:

O'Neal and Bryant spent eight seasons together. Bryant was a rookie when O'Neal signed with the Lakers in 1996-97.

Together, they brought "Showtime" back to Los Angeles. The Lakers won three straight NBA championships with the duo.

"I love Kobe Bryant," O'Neal added on The Big Podcast With Shaq. "I'm the first to say, hey, I got four rings and I know I couldn't have gotten three without him. ... I know these things."

Although the two stars at times clashed while playing together, they had long since moved past any hostility.

"It means a lot. I definitely couldn't have done it without him," O'Neal said of Bryant after the Lakers honored O'Neal with a statue in March 2017. "We will always go down in history as the most enigmatic, controversial, 1-2 punch ever created. It would be more of a better story if we didn't win any championships. We won three out of four. That is excellent and something I live with everyday. I'm glad it happened the way it did. All it did was push each other to be great."