Shaquille O'Neal won't watch Kobe Bryant's Hall of Fame induction: 'Too painful'

Shaquille O'Neal will not be watching former teammate Kobe Bryant's induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The 48-year-old opened up on "The Big Podcast" and admitted it would be too painful for him to watch the ceremony.

“I’m actually not going to watch the Hall of Fame ceremony," O'Neal said on The Big Podcast with Shaq, according to Sports Illustrated's Melissa Rohlin. "...Because it’s going to bring me, on a scale of sadness from 1-10, I’m finally at least at a 2 now, but that would bring me back to a seven, eight or nine. I can't right now. I don’t want to see old highlights that I’m already watching now. It’d be great if his wife gave a speech, or if his mom and dad gave a speech, but I'll see that afterwards. I’m not going to watch the ceremony.”

Bryant and his daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash along with seven other people earlier this year, and O'Neal teared up on live television discussing the tragic event.

The duo of O'Neal and Bryant won three NBA titles together from 2000-2002, and although they had a rather complicated relationship, O'Neal said Bryant was like a brother to him.

The Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled for August 29, but that could change due to the coronavirus pandemic. Along with Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Eddie Sutton, Rudy Tomjanovich, Tamika Catchings, Kim Mulkey, Barbara Stevens and Patrick Baumann will be inducted.