Former NBA great Shaquille O’Neal says he has recently been experiencing vivid dreams about playing alongside his late teammate Kobe Bryant — dreams he describes as “almost like we’re back in the locker room together.” In an exclusive interview with People, O’Neal opened up about what he called a technique of “dreamful attraction” he uses before sleep and how he revisits his championship years with Bryant.
Shaquille O’Neal Revisits Championship Moments
O’Neal, 53, told the magazine, “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 added, “I just replayed and recreated us riding in the parade and just having good times. Before I knew it, it was 9 a.m.” That he reports feeling some level of control over his dream state surprised some fans but offered a window into how important those Lakers days remain for him.
O’Neal and Bryant famously teamed up on the Los Angeles Lakers to win three straight NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. While their relationship had its ups and downs, including well-publicized tension early on, both men acknowledged later the extraordinary nature of that duo. In the interview, O’Neal said the dreams often revisit those triumphs rather than the conflicts.
The conversation with People took an unexpected turn when O’Neal discussed his diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). He admitted he ignored symptoms during his playing career, saying, “I was just tired all the time … I was in my superhuman phase.” His doctors told him the disorder required real attention, and he now works as a spokesman for a campaign called “Don’t Sleep on OSA” to raise awareness.
“I’m working with my doctor now, and I’m coming up with a plan for me,” he explained. O’Neal said part of his motivation is to help others recognize they may have the condition: “Help people prevent the certain things that I went through.”
Bryant died in a helicopter crash in January 2020, an event that still resonates deeply with O’Neal. In this most-recent interview he conveyed how those dreams of Bryant and their shared success keep the memory alive. He said he frequently thinks of the friend and teammate he lost. The dreams, for him, serve as a connection.
“I always say we were the most dominant one-two punch ever created,” O’Neal said in an earlier interview. He described Bryant as “the most competitive player I’ve ever seen and the best teammate I ever had.”