Kobe Bryant sent a message to Shaquille O’Neal’s son Shareef hours before he died in a tragic helicopter crash on Sunday.

Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others died in the crash near Calabasas, California. Bryant was 41.

Shareef O’Neal, whose father was a teammate and longtime friend of Bryant’s, shared their brief encounter on Twitter after the news of Bryant’s death broke.

“Literally this morning you reached out to me,” he wrote alongside a screenshot of the message. “I love you forever unc.”

The screenshot showed that Bryant messaged him "You good fam?" at 8:19 a.m. on Sunday.

O'Neal replied, "Yeah! Just been getting this work in trying to figure out my next move," adding, "How you been?"

He never received a reply.

O'Neal, 20, a college basketball star who most recently played for the UCLA Bruins, posted several other emotional tributes to Bryant and Gianna.

"GIGI," one read. "Love you cousin."

Another said: "You've really been there for me all 20 years of my life ... been there for me since I was born .. love you."

He also posted a video of his father and Bryant and a photo of Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers jersey hanging above his bed.

"Right above me every night I go to sleep," he said. "I'm going to play through you."

Shaquille O'Neal later posted a tribute of his own, saying there were "no words to express the pain" of losing Gianna and Bryant.

"I love u and u will be missed," he said. "My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW."

He and Bryant played together with the Lakers from 1996 to 2004, helping the team win three back-to-back NBA championships.