Shaquille O'Neal Reveals He's Been Dreaming About Playing with Kobe Bryant (Exclusive) Natasha DyeOctober 30, 2025 at 1:15 AM 0 Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal on Dec.
- - Shaquille O'Neal Reveals He's Been Dreaming About Playing with Kobe Bryant (Exclusive)
Natasha DyeOctober 30, 2025 at 1:15 AM
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Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal on Dec. 10, 2002 -
Shaquille O'Neal tells PEOPLE he's been having dreams about his former teammate Kobe Bryant recently
O'Neal, who has obstructive sleep apnea, recently had a dream where he "replayed and recreated us riding in the parade and just having good times"
The former Lakers star reveals that he didn't start addressing his condition until he "started really having problems" in his 50s
Kobe Bryant has been on Shaquille O'Neal's mind.
The 53-year-old NBA legend tells PEOPLE he's been reminiscing on his playing days with Bryant, who tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2020, in his dreams.
O'Neal says he does "something called a dreamful attraction" when his head hits the pillow at night. "If I lay there the first five minutes, I don't go to sleep, then I just start dreaming, and last night I was dreaming about me and Kobe and all the championships we won,"he says.
O'Neal adds, "I just replayed and recreated us riding in the parade and just having good times. Before I knew it, it was 9 a.m."
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Magic Johnson in 2000
The former Lakers star says he's often able to "control my dreams" but adds, "but then a lot of times, my dreams are very, very random."
O'Neal shares his recent dreams about Bryant as he addresses his obstructive sleep apnea [OSA], a condition the former NBA star didn't manage until later in life.
"I was just tired all the time, and then I met this gentleman from Harvard who was a doctor, and he told me about [OSA], but I was still in my superhuman phase as I was still playing, so I didn't pay attention," he admits.
But then, he says, "I started having problems. I really started having problems."
"I've never really went to the doctor, but when you go to the doctor, it's like, 'Hey, this and this and this and this.' And one of my doctors said, 'Hey, do you have sleep apnea?' I said, 'Yeah.' And he said, 'Well, that needs to change,' " O'Neal recalls.
The experience inspired him to become a spokesperson for Lilly's Don't Sleep on OSA initiative to "help people prevent the certain things that I went through," he says.
"I'm working with my doctor now, and I'm coming up with a plan for me," he explains.
His mission is to "help raise awareness for people who don't realize they have OSA," and to encourage people to see their doctor and "try to figure out what's going on."
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty
Shaquille O'Neal on Dec. 10, 2023
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O'Neal encourages fans to learn more about the symptoms and treatment plans at dontsleeponOSA.com.
"I remember when I was first getting diagnosed, and the guy was asking those questions, I was like, 'Yeah, how do you know that?' But again, me being a guy, me thinking I'm superhuman, I never paid attention to him," he says. "But now at 53, I've got to pay attention to him."
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