Reports: Kobe Bryant's family requested Shaquille O'Neal's docuseries to 'reduce the amount of Kobe' in film

In 2020, the NBA community was hit hard when news broke of the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant. One person who was devastated by this was Kobe's former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. While many thought Shaq and Kobe didn't get along, the two shared a close bond.

Shaq is always looking to take on new ventures, and his latest project is a documentary about his life titled "Shaq." An array of topics will be covered in the docuseries, including his relationship with Bryant.

In a recent interview, director Robert Alexander touched on how much Kobe Bryant will be featured in the documentary. It was there that he mentioned Bryant family's request to reduce the amount of screen time Kobe gets. As expected, Alexander happily did what they asked.

“To be transparent, we also got to a point where we had a certain amount of their story in the film. Kobe’s family essentially requested that we reduce the amount of Kobe we have in the film, Alexander said.

“I’m not totally sure, but out of respect for their wishes we did it, we went ahead and we complied. I’m very proud of what we ended up with, as far as the amount of Kobe content that we have, that relates to Shaq’s story, but at the end of the day it’s a Shaq film,” Alexander continued.

Also read: Shaquille O'Neal shares the idea behind his documentary ‘SHAQ’: “I wanted to view myself as superhero”

Shaquille O'Neal did the right thing by limiting Kobe Bryant content

While Shaquille O'Neal might have wanted more time in the documentary to talk about Kobe Bryant, he did the right thing by accepting the family's wishes. As the director said, in the end it's a documentary about Shaq.

One thing the family will have to accept is that Kobe will be a fixture at times given his connection with Shaq. They were a deadly duo during their time with the LA Lakers. Their biggest accomplishment was by far leading the team to three straight championships from 2000 to 2002. Shaq eventually left the Lakers in 2004 and joined the Miami Heat.

Shaquille O'Neal can honor Kobe Bryant's memory without making him a focal point in his documentary. Viewers will get a chance to see how close the two legends were over the years.