Shaq restores car Kobe Bryant used to drive in high school then presents it to Kobe’s mother

Legendary basketball Hall of Famer and avid car enthusiast Shaquille O’Neal has just restored Kobe Bryant’s Land Cruiser that he used to drive in high school, to celebrate what would have been his 47th birthday.

Legends on the court, bitter competitive rivals, bickering brothers, and fierce, fierce friends.

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe might have been a dynamic duo on the court in the Lakers dynasty, but their bond went much further than professional ball.

So after visiting Kobe’s mother, Shaq decided to get her a present for his late friend’s birthday, and restored his childhood car.

VISIT SBX CARS – View live supercar auctions powered by Supercar Blondie

Shaq restores Kobe Bryant’s Land Cruiser for late Basketballer’s mom

There are fewer sports athletes and celebrities with a taste for highly-tuned cars like Shaquille O’Neal.

He is known for often riding in gargantuan monster trucks with specialty kits, or sports cars edited to fit his seven-foot frame, like this Chevy Corvette.

Pulling in the help of Effortless Motors, he tunes a lot of cars.

But the latest project was a Toyota Land Cruiser, which he borrowed from Kobe’s mom, Pam.

The idea was for Shaq to restore this car for Bryant’s mother, so she can ride it with the love that Kobe did when he was younger.

The old Toyota was battered and bruised, with its bodywork needing a complete overhaul.

Given Kobe would have been driving this 25 years ago, it’s likely he soon moved on from it and left the Land Cruiser to get rusty.

Restored and ready to go

Effortless Motors refurbished Kobe Bryant’s Land Cruiser back to its original dark blue-green hue, and primed it as if Toyota handed the keys over yesterday.

Documented on their YouTube channel, they revealed the process and what it would mean to the family.

“This is something Shaquille O’Neal thought of and thought would be a perfect thing to gift Kobe Bryant’s mom,” they said.

“We’ve been waiting for a long time to get this thing knocked out and and now we’re about to present it to mama Bryant.”

The delivery was done off camera, but you can imagine the Bryants’ overwhelming emotion at seeing this family heirloom restored to its previous state,

Shaquille O’Neal has made a habit of being charitable with his cars, recently buying a Mitsubishi Outlander for an aspiring young wrestler, after Tamara Humphries revealed that she couldn’t afford practice without the means to transport to her gym.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie