Shaq restores Kobe Bryant’s family car with help from auto shop

A 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser once driven by the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has been given new life, thanks to a heartfelt tribute organized by his former teammate, Shaquille O'Neal. (Credit: KABC via CNN Newsource)

A 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser once driven by the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has been given new life, thanks to a heartfelt tribute organized by his former teammate, Shaquille O’Neal.

Anthony C. Hall, a longtime friend of O’Neal, said the vehicle was an old family car shared by Bryant’s parents and sisters.

“It was an old family vehicle that everyone tended to drive - Kobe’s sisters, Kobe, mom, dad, everyone drove this vehicle,” Hall said.

Over the years, the SUV fell into rough shape, taking a beating in Philadelphia winters where Bryant once lived and later baking under the Las Vegas sun. The vehicle was rusty, the seats were broken, the doors barely opened and it had no air conditioning.

O’Neal wanted to return the Land Cruiser to the Bryant family as a surprise tribute. To do it, he enlisted Riverside-based Effortless Motors, a dealership specializing in custom and exotic vehicles.

Daniel Ubario, co-owner of Effortless Motors, still recalls the moment they got the call.

“Getting that phone call still feels like we’re dreaming,” Ubario said.

His business partner, Ahmad Abdelrahman, said learning the car belonged to Kobe left him shaken.

“When he told me that was the car Kobe drove in high school, I was in shock. I was literally almost in tears,” Abdelrahman said.

O’Neal requested that the restoration be faithful to the original, no flashy upgrades, just the way Bryant drove it in 1996. But there was one more condition: the work had to be finished in just 90 days.

The deadline was timed to what would have been Bryant’s 47th birthday in August.

“He just wanted to have that day to give the family vehicle back to mom Bryant,” Hall said.

Despite the tight timeline, Effortless Motors delivered. The restored SUV was presented in person to Kobe’s mother, Pam Bryant, on her late son’s birthday.

“She was very happy that we even brought the car looking exactly the way he drove it back in high school,” Ubario said.

What was once just a family car now carries a mother’s love, a teammate’s devotion and a tribute to Kobe Bryant’s enduring legacy.