NBA Superstars Reunited by Birth of Daughters

At 2:03 a.m. PDT Monday, May 1, Kobe and Vanessa Bryant were welcoming their second daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore in Orange County, California, just hours after Kobe's improbable buzzer-beater shot to win a playoff game for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Six minutes later and more than 2,300 air miles away in South Florida, Shaq and Shaunie O'Neal would be doing the same with the arrival of their third daughter and sixth child, Mearah Sanaa, according to the Associated Press.

Mearah is welcomed by sisters Taahirah and Amirah and brothers Myles, Shareef, and Shaqir. Gianna will be little sister to the Bryants' 3-year-old daughter Natasha.

On Monday, the two babies brought together in celebration the two National Basketball Association superstars who are otherwise worlds apart in their ways.

Bryant, seen as an introvert and attempting to rebuild his media image after a sexual assault allegation in 2003, is the son of former NBA player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. He had a wealthy upbringing in Italy where he became fluent in Italian, and currently owns one of that country's professional basketball teams.

O'Neal was born in Newark, New Jersey, where he had a troubled relationship with his biological father. He is beloved both by the public and the media, in particular for his down-to-earth, playful personality and community involvement.

The two players were the driving force for the Lakers during the three-straight championship years in 2000, 2001, and 2002. After losing to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA finals in 2003, the two become engaged in a much-publicized and heated rivalry on and off the courts, bringing into question Bryant's alleged selfishness on the court and O'Neal's alleged lack of work ethic. The athletes parted ways soon after the season, when O'Neal demanded a trade and ended up with the Miami Heat.

This is not the first time the two superstars have come together in the wake of baby news.

Earlier this year there was a physical reunion. Since O'Neal's move to Miami, he had refused to acknowledge his former teammate during the first three on-court meetings between the Heat and the Lakers. Finally, on January 16, he approached Bryant to congratulate him before the game on the impending birth of Bryant's daughter.

"Today, when I spoke to (Bryant), we spoke about something that was more important then basketball. He's having a little daughter, so I told him and his wife congratulations upon the baby," O'Neal said in an interview with NBA.com in January.

This year, the two are once again in the middle of a heated playoff series, but for their separate teams. The chances that they will meet in NBA finals are remote -- since O'Neal's departure in 2004, the Lakers are in the middle of a rebuilding process and are not expected to go far into the playoffs; Shaq's Heat have their hands full in the first round with the Chicago Bulls in a 2-2 tie in a best of seven series.

But thanks to the newborns, the past has been laid to rest -- at least for now -- and at a place more important than a basketball court.

Originally published on AmericanBaby.com, May 2006.