Shaquille O'Neal's Children Remember Kobe Bryant on His Heavenly Birthday – See Their Sweet Messages

Shaquille O'Neal's children celebrated Kobe Bryant's 42nd birthday posthumously on Instagram. They revealed that they missed their "unc Kobe" and promised to make him proud.

On January 26, 2020, the NBA and the world were stunned with some devastating news - legendary basketballer Kobe Bryant and eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, were the victims of a helicopter crash that left no survivors.

Now, seven months after that fateful day in California, Bryant's loved ones continue to keep his memory alive. Among those are Me'arah O'Neal, Shaqir O'Neal, and Shareef O'Neal, children of Bryant's longtime teammate and friend, Shaquille O'Neal.

On Sunday, August 23, 2020, O'Neal's children took to Instagram to celebrate their late uncle's 42nd birthday. Me'arah thanked Bryant for living an inspiring life and expressed that she missed him dearly.

Her brother, Shaqir, also put up an emotional series of photos — including one of his dad and Bryant celebrating one of their many NBA triumphs. He then captioned the post:

"Happy bday unc love you forever ??❤️ I think about you everyday ?? 42."

Shareef, O'Neal's eldest son, was also emotional on Sunday and shared numerous photos of his father and Bryant together, claiming that things have not been the same since his "unc" passed away.

However, the O'Neals were not alone in celebrating the beloved icon, as thousands of fans responded to their posts to pay tribute to the late "Mamba."

Me'arah has vowed to ensure that her friend's legacy continues.

Bryant's death still shocks many even today and Shareef once disclosed that Bryant had sent him a text a few hours before the crash to check that he was doing alright.

Shareef expressed that this was a usual occurrence that he didn't read much into since he expected to see his uncle later.

Shareef also revealed that he has since made that text his phone's screensaver and reads it every day as he still struggles to believe that his uncle is truly gone.

Me'arah has also had a rough time of it. She was very close with Gianna — the two were born on the same day and were like sisters.

Me'arah has vowed to ensure that her friend's legacy continues as she regrets that she never got to say goodbye.

In honor of their beloved husband and father, respectively, Vanessa and Natalia Bryant also shared emotional posts about the former Lakers superstar and reminisced about some good times with him.

Earlier this year, O'Neal also reminisced about his good friend, recalling a hilarious exchange that involved Bryant and some other soon-to-be legends.