The office of the Magic City Classic has announced that NBA champion, Olympic gold medalist and television sports analyst Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal will be the official ambassador and grand marshal of the McDonald’s Magic City Classic.
Shaquille O'Neal Rumors
All NBA Players
1w
Although they’ve since patched things up, things flared up when Kobe’s recent comments about Shaq ignited a Twitter feud between the two. On Tuesday, Bryant stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live to explain the remarks. “I think he did,” Kobe said at the interview’s 4-minute mark when asked if he thought Shaq took objection to his comments. “But here’s the thing: it was really a compliment. People missed the first whole half of that in which I said he was the most dominant player I’ve ever seen and I felt like he could’ve been the greatest of all time. So people kind of missed that part of it. They kind of caught on to the ‘lazy’ part. But I said that kind of like tongue-in-cheek.”
Ryan Ward: Dwight Howard on Shaq/Kobe: “Shaq and Kobe are some of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball. I have nothing but love and respect for those guys.” #Lakers
On the topic of Bryant not passing, Raja Bell shared an incredible story on CBS Sports’ “Kanell and Bell” podcast. Bell played with O’Neal on the Phoenix Suns, after O’Neal’s time with Bryant had ended. While there, O’Neal explained to Bell that the Lakers had a signal they would use when they planned to stop passing the ball to Bryant because he was shooting too much.
“Shaq told me a story. We had a kid named Gordon Giricek on our Suns team, he had gotten there, and Gordon would go in the game, and Gordon was about his buckets. So Gordon would get in, and no matter what we were doing, no matter what the flow or the chemistry was, Gordon would be just, you know, shooting the ball. Gordon was my guy, I played with him in Utah. “But Shaq started saying ‘hey guys, this is the symbol’ (twitches thumbs downward) ‘when I give you this, Gordon doesn’t get the ball anymore.’ And I’m like ‘dude what is the background on that, where’d you come up with that?’ And he was like ‘when Kobe was young, he would be going in and just trying to get ’em, so the rest of us had a universal kind of code that if we looked at each other and went (gives signal) then that meant Kobe didn’t get the ball anymore.'”
Newly signed Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard became an unexpected target of Lakers legends Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant on Wednesday after comments from Bryant about O’Neal surfaced. O’Neal’s lack of respect for Howard was such that he refused to even spell his name correctly. But as the eight-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer prepares to join the Lakers for a second time while fighting for his NBA livelihood, he says he has no time or energy to worry about what O’Neal says. Howard was asked about Shaq’s comments during a stream on Instagram Live and Howard referred to whatever Shaq or anyone says as “irrelevant.”
Lakers Empire: Dwight Howard on Shaq’s tweet
Yahoo Finance: Highlight: NBA Hall of Famer @SHAQ on Kobe Bryant’s comments about not working hard enough: “My work ethic speaks for itself… People have to stay relevant somehow.” http://finance.yahoo.com
Shaquille O’Neal talks about investing and his latest entrepreneurial venture on Yahoo Finance’s On The Move with Julie Hyman, Brian Cheung, Dan Roberts and Adam Roseman, Steady Co-Founder and CEO.
Yahoo Finance: Highlight: “My first major investment was Google,” says NBA Hall of Famer @SHAQ. Also says he looks to Jeff Bezos for investing inspiration and that he takes time and does a lot of research before investing. http://finance.yahoo.com
Kobe Bryant: Bruh 🤦🏾♂️💀
lakers24ever: “He’d be the greatest of all time” & “I would’ve had f***** 12 rings” – Kobe on if Shaq had his work ethic 😳 (📽️: @patrickbetdavid) #losangeles #lakers #kobebryant #shaq
Bryant said that he’s not stating anything that he’s afraid to say to the player-turned-host’s face. Bryant said that he’s brought the idea of more championships up many times while talking to O’Neal. “Me and Shaq sit down all the time and I say, ‘Dude if your lazy ass was in shape…'” he shared. But Shaq didn’t seem too pleased with Kobe’s comments, and voiced his displeasure via some Instagram comments.
Ballislife.com: “U woulda had 12 if u passed the ball more especially in the finals against the Pistons.” Shaq’s response to Kobe saying he would have 12 rings if Shaq was in the gym. KOBE IN 2004 NBA FINALS. GM1: 10-27 FG. GM2: 14-27 FG. GM3: 4-13 FG. GM4: 8-25 FG. GM5: 7-21 FG
Roy Hibbert: Growing up and being hella tall at a young age 6’8 in 8th grade. My favorite players will always be @SHAQ and Tim Duncan. Two of my favorite players. Was a pleasure meeting them as a kid and hella tough playing against them in the @nba. Just my random thought of the day.
Li-Ning is best known for its signing of Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade in 2012, during the middle of the franchise’s four straight NBA Finals appearances. The company had previously signed Shaquille O’Neal and Baron Davis to shoe deals, and more recently partnered with CJ McCollum, Evan Turner and a handful of other players. “I really like their shoes,” Hampton said. “[With] CJ and Dwyane Wade, it’s going to be great.”
Since retiring from his 19-year basketball career in 2011, Shaquille O’Neal has seen just as much success off the court: He was an early investor in Google and has since accumulated an impressive portfolio, including investments in Apple, 24 Hour Fitness and nightclubs in Las Vegas. He also owns 17 Auntie Anne’s, a Krispy Kreme franchise and a Big Chicken restaurant in Las Vegas. When it comes to investing, the former NBA star draws inspiration from Amazon’s founder and CEO: “I heard Jeff Bezos say one time [that] he makes his investments based on if it’s going to change people’s lives,” O’Neal told the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview. “Once I started doing that strategy, I think I probably quadrupled what I’m worth.”
Former NBA great Shaquille O’Neal is the latest celebrity to arrive in Croatia this summer. Shaq (47) landed at Zadar Airport on Sunday afternoon and happily mingled with fans, signing autographs and posing for photos. The retired NBA star has arrived in Croatia for pleasure and business. Shaq, who goes by the name DJ Diesel, will perform on 22 July at Noa Beach Club on Zrće beach on the island of Pag.
So how does that influence O’Neal he approaches his business dealings? “My method is old school. Of course there’s a lot of money to be thrown around but when you’re raised by a military drill sergeant, you have to do business honestly,” he explained. When approaching CEOs and business leaders, O’Neal added that “If I don’t use your product as a man I can’t take your money.” That guiding principle extends to his current range of business interests, he said. “Doesn’t matter what you offer me,” O’Neal said. “I just can’t do it. Because it’s not the right thing to do.”
The retired basketball star has scored big in business since retiring. O’Neal said he’s made more money through his investments than he did playing basketball. Shaq has built an impressive business empire of his own, ranging from Papa John’s (PZZA), Reebok and Carnival Cruise Line (CCL), among others.
Even with many accolades on and off the court, the ex-Los Angeles Laker and 7-foot entrepreneur looks up to other business leaders for inspiration — and one in particular. Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos is “very brilliant in how he thinks,” O’Neal told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview. O’Neal has lavished praise on Bezos’ business acumen, and complemented the world’s richest man for helping to add to his own post-basketball net worth.
But one entity with which O’Neal will no longer be connected: BetOnline.ag, an offshore bookmaker offering odds illegally to Americans. An official in the NBA office confirmed to Bookies.com earlier today that BetOnline.ag will no longer be associated with O’Neal. The issue came to light when O’Neal’s podcast, The Big Podcast with Shaq, hosted with John Kincade on PodcastOne.com, began including a new presenting sponsor, BetOnline.ag. The problem was, BetOnline is an illegal and unlicensed offshore sportsbook based in Antigua. Once that was brought to the attention of the NBA, officials looked into the issue and consulted with all sides, resulting in the severing of the relationship between the podcast and offshore bookmaker.
06 Jun
While on the court for pre-game duties with TNT, O’Neal gave Green some shooting advice after he said he noticed Green was “messing around” in warmups. Green revealed after the game that O’Neal has been giving him the same message since the two played together for the Cleveland Cavaliers. “He’s a pure shooter, I don’t know if you guys knew that…. I spoke to him before the game briefly. He’s always on the TNT set and he was out there right before the game. And every time I see him, he’s giving me his pure shooting advice, you know, because he was good at it. But, you know, just the fundamentals, the small things. He was telling me to be confident and hold the follow through. Obviously, after a good shooting night it’s easy to see that his advice has worked. He always just yells to me ‘leave it!’ That’s his way of saying leave your hand up there, hold your follow through, and be confident in your shot.”
But, we also talked hoops with Shaq … specifically about Drake, who’s been heavily criticized for taunting Golden State Warriors players and going crazy on the sidelines during the NBA Finals. “Drake is a smart guy,” Shaq says … “He knows what he’s doing. It’s called marketing, people!!”
28 May
19 May
When Shaquille O’Neal was asked to share his thoughts on what many consider the Lakers’ scratch-your-head hire of Frank Vogel as coach, the Hall of Fame center didn’t hesitate. “Give him a chance,” O’Neal told The Times on Sunday. “That’s the least people can do. He did a good job in Indiana, right? So give him a chance to see if he does a good job with the Lakers.”
Shaquille O’Neal, who wears a size 22, said he related to the teen’s story. “Mom couldn’t afford shoes. The kid had big feet. I just kind of reminisced about how that used to be me, my mom and my dad,” O’Neal told CBS Atlanta affiliate WGCL-TV. So, O’Neal and the station devised a plan to surprise the teen at Friedman’s Shoes in Atlanta.
When Keith met his idol at the shoe store, they didn’t just chat, they went shopping. The basketball legend ended up buying Keith 10 pairs of size 18 shoes. He bought all different kinds, knowing it was often hard for the teen and his mom to find the right size. “This will help a lot. I won’t so much have to worry about buying him dress shoes,” the teen’s mom, Brittany Keith said. “He hasn’t had a pair of dress shoes in about four or five years because it’s been hard trying to find the ones that actually fit.”
09 May
Basketball-Reference: Nikola Jokic is averaging 24.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. Since 2000, the only other players to have a 24 & 12 playoff run of 10 games or longer are Shaq, Duncan, KG, Amar’e, and Blake Griffin bkref.com/tiny/gOd1Q pic.twitter.com/AkhhJYqenA
Basketball-Reference: 45-point, 10-rebound Game 1s, since ’84: Michael Jordan (1992 EC First Round), Shaquille O’Neal (1997 WC First Round, 2000 WC First Round), Karl Malone (2000 WC First Round), Kobe Bryant (2001 WCF), Dirk Nowitzki (2003 WC First Round), Dwight Howard (2011 EC First Round), LaMarcus Aldridge (2014 WC First Round), Kawhi Leonard (2019 ECS) pic.twitter.com/0vpbc6pMtG
23 Apr
The NBA on TNT crew — ex-players Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and sportscaster Ernie Johnson — also weighed in on the topic during a segment on Sunday. “First of all, that’s unprofessional,” Barkley said. “Part of our job is to talk to the press. We don’t make $30-40 million just to play basketball. People are gonna interrupt you when you have dinner. You have to sign autographs. You have to take pictures. Some of the other stuff is talking to the press. Russ has got to do better. Russ is a great dude. And just because a reporter says something bad about you, you don’t get the right to just say ‘next question.’ “
O’Neal took a different stance. “I’m gonna disagree with both of y’all, because I was Russell Westbrook — sensitive, and if I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t have to talk to you,” O’Neal said. “Our job is to talk to the media. I don’t have to talk to one particular guy. Media is media members like four or five. … A lot of guys (in the media) try to get personal and try to be cute and try to get their followers … so if you’re sticking to the facts, ‘Hack-a-Shaq, he can’t shoot,’ I ain’t got no problem. But once you try to get personal and start doing that, man to man, I don’t have to talk to you as a man if I don’t want to talk to you.”
Mark Berman: Hakeem Olajuwon (@Hakeem Olajuwon) on @Shaquille O’Neal naming Hakeem as the center on his all-time greatest NBA team during an interview with the Sunday @TODAYshow: “Coming from Shaq, it’s a great honor for me..I’m very grateful..I love Shaq. If I have to pick a team I pick Shaq also. So it’s mutual” pic.twitter.com/lAcXRUMx2R
Speaking on the 200th episode of his podcast, The Big Podcast With Shaq, O’Neal discussed not only a lot from his past life as an NBA player, but some of the romantic situations he could have found himself in. One situation involved Sharon Stone, and saw O’Neal scrambling to look nice for the actress only to have totally misread the situation. “Sharon Stone…I thought I was going to get lucky. I went to Neiman Marcus, got some special cologne, had my shirt open, did some push ups so my arms would be tight,” Shaq said. “No underwear, free-ball that night, and she’s just like ‘I want to talk to you…I need a donation for $20 million.”
Udonis Haslem: LeBron James had the best basketball IQ I’ve ever seen from a player. The way I see the game now, I know everybody’s position. I know where everybody should be. I know what everybody should be doing. When I’m looking at the defenses, I’m not just looking at the man that’s guarding me. I’m looking at the other four defenders on the floor. That’s something I learned from LeBron. Alonzo [Mourning] always told me, ‘Every player in this league is one trade, one coach and one injury away from being a role player to a superstar to out of the league.’ I always took that with me. Shaquille [O’Neal] told me, ‘Whatever your routine is, stick with it. When you have bad games, people want to go change their routine. What am I doing different? No. Stick with your routine. Believe in your routine. Believe in yourself. Believe in what you’ve been doing.’
Asked on “The Big Podcast” to compare himself to Giannis Antetokounmpo, O’Neal was quick to dub the Milwaukee Bucks superstar as “better.” “He’s better because he has more opportunity to showcase more,” O’Neal said. “I was a post player, and the only thing I was allowed to showcase was my domination. He’s running the floor. I did that early, (but) I stopped doing that because I stopped getting the ball when I ran the floor, so I turned into a halfcourt dominant player.
“But yeah, he’s better. And that’s why I gave up my ‘Superman’ title to him (in November). And you know what? He works hard. He’s a humble kid. He works hard. He doesn’t just come and show up and expect people to say, ‘Oh, hey, I do this, I do that, I’m the next …’ Nah, this kid actually works, and he’s earned it. He’s earned my respect, and he deserves it, so I’m giving it to him. To answer all the critics’ questions, you’re right, the kid was better than me at 24.”
It’s no secret that Shaquille O’Neal is one of EDM’s (literally) biggest treasures. Yesterday, during Gud Vibrations’ (NGHTMRE and SLANDER) Ultra Music Festival set, the NBA hall of fame center joined Lil Jon and the trio on the main stage. The two guests were brought out to join fellow collaborator NGHTMRE for their track “Bang.” After pumping up the crowd, Shaq slipped into the mosh pit and threw down to some dubstep and more with fans while Gud Vibrations continued with their set.
The NBA legend has even confirmed that he is working on music with Diplo and that he dreams of collaborating with Skrillex one day.
Josh Robbins: Nikola Vucevic has just passed Shaquille O’Neal for fifth place on the Magic’s all-time scoring list. Shaq had 8,019 points with Orlando. Vucevic now has 8,021 points with Orlando.
O’Neal, of course, was known in his 19 NBA seasons for being a wrecking ball in the paint, and he averaged 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds on his way to the Hall of Fame. But, oh, if he were playing today, he would light up the stat sheet with league-best scoring and most definitely be a guy who could put the ball on the floor and attack the basket. Just ask him. SN: How many points would you have averaged if you were playing now? SHAQ: “40. Without the free throws.” SN: How would you fit into the game if you were just coming in now? SHAQ: “I’d have been a 5. I would have been the ‘Greek Freak’ (Giannis Antetokounmpo). I would be a guy that can dribble, can handle, can go to the hole with force, do that. Kick it to guards. I tried to do that every now and then, but my coaches wasn’t having it. Every now and then, I did it. I know you guys saw me do it. I would be him. “However, I wouldn’t change my game because everybody else was shooting jumpers. I would still do what I do, and I would punish the bigs. When bigs shoot jumpers, that just tells me they don’t like the physical contact. I would definitely take advantage of that.”
Frank Urbina: The last three Lakers to post a game with at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks: Kareem, Shaq, JaVale McGee pic.twitter.com/13TM3UEWC1
Papa John’s is making a big addition to its board of directors: NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. The company announced the partnership Friday, adding that the four-time NBA champion will be an “ambassador for the Papa John’s brand.” Officials said O’Neal is also investing in nine Papa John’s restaurants in the Atlanta area.
Mark Hamill: What a thrill it was to meet the legendary @Shaquille O’Neal!!! (Note to self: In the future, avoid posing with anyone who makes me look like a card-carrying member of the Lollipop Guild)
Shaquille O’Neal is coming back to play in Miami next week. Play music, that is. The former star centre and four-time NBA champion still has a hectic life in retirement, with work as a television analyst and celebrity endorser and other off-court business interests. He’s also serious about music and will be one of the headliners during the upcoming Miami Music Week — bringing his “Shaq’s Fun House” and DJ skills back on March 29.
O’Neal has studied the art of being a DJ for some time, even going back to his days with the Miami Heat and helping that franchise win its first world title in 2006. His first ‘Fun House’ was in Miami last year, also part of what organizers call the biggest week for dance music in the world. He also had a show as part of Super Bowl week earlier this year.
Welcome the newest, and undoubtedly the most intimidating, member of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal has been dubbed an auxiliary deputy for the Sheriff’s Office.
Despite the Lakers’ painful loss to Boston on Saturday, March 9, there was still much to celebrate at L.A. Live when friends like Tiffany Haddish and Chauncey Billups as well as family came out for the official grand opening of Shaquille O’Neal’s new namesake restaurant, across from Staples Center.
Also on the menu of the airy iCrave-designed space with private enclosed patio are a Shaq burger (American cheese, red onion, house-made pickles and Shaq sauce) alongside the Kobe Burger (Greg Norman prime Kobe beef, Gruyère, roasted tomatoes, arugula and bacon jam).
Jorge Sierra: Atlanta’s John Collins is leading all sophomores in PER and damn close to averaging 20 and 10. Last players to average 20-10 in second pro year: Olajuwon, Barkley, Malone, David Robinson, Larry Johnson, Shaq, Mourning, Antoine Walker, Tim Duncan, Elton Brand, Blake Griffin, AD, KAT, Embiid. John Collins: 👀😎
A couple of decades ago, the NBA’s demand for back-to-the-basket 7-footers seemed like it could only be met by an assembly line. Now their path to pro basketball success looks more like a limbo line. “The game has changed,” one longtime NBA scout says. “It used to be that if you had three centers on your roster, you wanted two of them to be big bruisers because you needed to go up against guys like [Shaquille O’Neal]. Now you really only need one. So where there were 40 jobs, now there are only 20.”
Shaquille O’Neal has a deal for you on his massive mansion in the exclusive southwest Orange County community of Isleworth. The NBA legend has cut the asking price of the 31,000-square-foot lakeside estate to just $21.9 million.
Alex Kennedy: Here is @SHAQ breaking down why he’d stay in New Orleans for financial reasons if he was Anthony Davis: Shaquille O’Neal on Anthony Davis: “If he stays home, he gets $240 [million]. If he leaves, he gets $209 [million]. I’m not giving up that $31 million for anybody. What I would try to do is keep that and now I’m the man. Now, I got to recruit LeBron to come play with me, I got to recruit Kyrie to come play with me. Because $240 [million] in Louisiana will go way further than $240 [million] in L.A. Trust me! I know this for a fact. Let me give you some simple math. I used to get my checks upfront. I was making $100 [million] over five, which was $20 million a year. When I got my check, it was $10.9 [million]. So FICA and all them people, whoever they are, took $9.1 million from my checks. So his $209 [million] in L.A is really, what, $104.5 [million] or something like that? But he’s his own man. I’m sure he wants to win. He gave them 7 years and it’s not working, so he probably wants to do something else. But that’s what I would do.”
02 Feb
Ryan Ward: Shaq on Anthony Davis: “Everyone knew that when Anthony [Davis] signed w Rich Paul that there was a possibility that they were going to make this move.” via @RichEisenShow #Lakers
To which O’Neal raises an indignant objection. “I find it quite disrespectful that they don’t bring Kobe’s name up,” he says of his onetime teammate and rival. “That kind of pisses me off how they just skip over him and say, ‘LeBron.’ I don’t understand that. Because I was there with him, and he was a bad motherfucker, too.”
Tommy Beer: Total number of games with more than 55 points in each player’s CAREER: LeBron James: 3, Allen Iverson: 2, Karl Malone: 2, Larry Bird: 1, Jerry West: 1, Shaquille O’Neal: 1, Oscar Robertson: 1. Total number of games with more than 55 points over the last TEN DAYS: James Harden: 3
Former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal says he wants to run for sheriff in Henry County. Appearing on Friday’s episode of “The Dr. Oz Show” on Channel 2, Shaq told Dr. Oz that he wants to run “to bring law enforcement and the community closer together.” When talking about community relations as it pertains to law enforcement, Shaq said, “Right now, we’re miles apart.”
Shaq said he’s too busy right now and wants to focus all of his energy on being a good sheriff. “I thought about doing it in 2020, but I think I’ll wait until 2024,” O’Neal said.
NBA great Shaquille O’Neal has put his luxurious Florida mansion on the market with a lofty price tag of US$21.99 million ($32 million). The palatial 12-bedroom home in Windermere, just outside of Orlando, epitomises the opulent lifestyle of American basketball stars. The custom-built mansion boasts a grand view of Lake Butler, a garage big enough for a fleet of vehicles, and an almost 30 metre-long swimming pool.
Well, you know the story with Mike and Dikembe. Dikembe was like, ‘You never got me.’ And the next time they played, he got him and did the finger wag… Carter: The guy I didn’t dunk on was Shaq. One time I tried, he flatlined me. Wilkins: I got him one time. But I quick dunked him. Carter: That’s the only way. Wilkins: Not like you’re going to go over him. You ain’t doing that. You had to catch Shaq when he least expected it. And that’s how I got him. Matter of fact, it was his rookie year. And I didn’t get him since… One guy who I could never get was Artis Gilmore.
Golden State superstar Stephen Curry believes historically great teams in any era should be able to stand on their own merits in the annals of history, but he isn’t going to let anybody think they can beat the Warriors. After hearing that Shaquille O’Neal said his Los Angeles Lakers teams that won three titles in a row could “easily” beat the Warriors, Curry defended Golden State’s honor.
“Oh, he’s dead wrong,” Curry told ESPN, with a confident smile, prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors. “Of course. We’d beat them. We can go back-and-forth all day.”
As someone who has been around the game his entire life, Curry acknowledged that he finds it “hard” to compare teams from different parts of history. “For me, I think it’s a tough conversation because I’ve always found it hard to compare eras to each other,” Curry said. “But in terms of having three banners up there and create parallels and comparisons to how they dominated the league through their run to what we’re doing now, I think that speaks a lot on its own. Just in terms of us accomplishing the goal and fulfilling the potential that we have. “And we’re still in the middle of it, so — I laugh sometimes, I saw Shaq today talked about his three-peat championship team would have destroyed us for whatever reason. All those conversations are just entertaining because (1) who knows? (2) the game is so different. Teams that dominated their respective eras need to be left alone in terms of what that means. Hopefully that’s how they’ll approach us when they talk about us 20, 30 years from now looking back.”
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo might already have a nickname, but as Shaquille O’Neal has already shown, you can never have too many. In fact, O’Neal is ready to relinquish one of his favorites — “Superman” — and give it up “with honor and pleasure” to the “Greek Freak.” “I’ve never given my name up before, but I’m giving it to him. He’s the new Superman. You heard it here first,” O’Neal told The Stephen A. Smith Show on ESPN Radio on Thursday. “I didn’t hit no 3-pointer either, but he’s dominating and that’s what I like. He’s dominating in the paint. You taking it to the hole. You throwing it down. You ain’t shooting no flip shots. …
“And you know what? I don’t want to encourage big guys to shoot jumpers and 3-pointers. Stay your big ass on the inside and dominate like you been doing. So I denounce myself as Superman and I’m giving to the ‘Greek Freak.’ You heard it here first.”
Speaking on the Stephen A. Smith radio show this week, Shaq said Antetokounmpo had earned it for how he dominates the paint. Via ESPN: “You know what, I’ve never given my name up before, but I’m giving it to him. He’s the new Superman. You heard it here first.”
26 Nov 18
On one side is incumbent Inglewood mayor James T. Butts Jr., who is generating support and money from the Los Angeles Clippers — an NBA franchise he hopes to bring to Inglewood, as well as celebrities including Snoop Dogg and Shaquille O’Neal. On the other is clergyman Marc Little, who has the backing of a major entertainment conglomerate with a key stake in the city, along with reality TV tycoon Kris Jenner and retired boxer “Sugar” Shane Mosley.
Relief arrived by phone the next day. James announced he was awarding Johnson a four-year contract. And after James provided the Lakers with personal scouting reports on potential housemates — Johnson had said to Spectrum SportsNet that he’d “definitely ask him his opinion because he knows those players better than us” — the most viral casting call in memory commenced. First they signed Rajon Rondo, a point guard who once fastballed a water bottle through a 50-inch television in a film session. Then they signed Lance Stephenson, a guard who established himself as no less than James’ foremost irritant by blowing into his ear canal in the 2014 Eastern Conference finals. Then they signed JaVale McGee, a center so notorious for on-court bloopers that his mother publicly accused Lakers legend and TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal of bullying her son. And then they signed Michael Beasley, a forward who wore a wristwatch on his right ankle while debating, in a televised interview, whether humans use only 10 percent of their brains. “If the Lakers were ‘Family Matters,'” says one Western Conference source, “this would be like adding four f—ing Urkels.”
Shaquille O’Neal was known to have his own personal machine loaded on to the Orlando Magic team plane. Then he would have the arcade machine set up in his hotel room where he and teammates would play through all hours of the night. “Penny Hardaway was good,” Shaq said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “I used to play as Chris Mullin or Reggie Miller all day.” The NBA is known for being the fun league of the major sports. Stars like Westbrook and George drive the league’s popularity around the globe. “NBA Jam” was re-made with newer players — including the Thunder and Westbrook — in 2010 by EA Sports.
Tania Ganguli: We’re talking about the changing NBA and playing small. Luke Walton gets asked what it’d be like if a player like @Shaquille O’Neal came along in today’s league. “Every team would be panicking,” Luke says.
UCLA basketball star Shareef O’Neal — Shaq’s son — says he’ll be forced to sit out next season due to a heart issue that will require major surgery … but vows to return ASAP. TMZ Sports spoke with the 18-year-old superstar who said he was having a routine checkup recently when the docs “found a medical issue dealing with my heart.” Shareef didn’t specify the exact problem — but said the issue is severe enough that he’ll be having heart surgery in the near future.
“Thank God the UCLA medical staff caught it early,” O’Neal tells us. Shareef says he’s been talking with his dad and mom Shaunie O’Neal about how best to handle the situation — and will NOT withdraw from school while recovering. “During rehab, I’ll be attending my classes and being a normal student.” Shareef says he vows to return to the court in 2019 after redshirting this upcoming season — and describes the ordeal as “just a bump in the road.” “I’ll be back in no time.”
Howard laughed off whatever beef there might be at the Wizards media day podium, but when he got a chance to sit down with Chris Miller, he was more frank about what’s going on between them. “I like to joke and have fun, but I don’t go at other NBA players or NBA vets because I respect all of them because they came before me,” Howard told Miller. “[Shaq] said something online about the whole rings situation. He got rings, I’m not in his league and all that stuff. But if that’s your only way to come back at all players, then you really don’t have too much to say.”
“I think it’s a little insecurity on his part because people call him ‘Superman’ and they call me ‘Superman.’ But if I’m an older guy and it’s younger players that are being compared to me and they have that same nickname, I want to feel good about it.”
So in your mind, was Shaq picking on you because you made an irregular amount of mistakes, or was he just being a jerk? JaVale McGee: I don’t know. I’m sure you can find the same amount of lowlights for Kobe, for Jordan, for anybody who’s an All-Star. But you keep showing just one person. And it got to the point where I’d miss a layup, then I’d be on the show. Like, people miss layups. Like, that’s not a thing. So it got to a point where it had to end. At one point everybody grows, and they have to speak up and defend themselves as a man.
To have a child drafted into the NBA or WNBA can be as disorienting of an experience for families as it is for the players themselves. “When your life changes overnight, it can be scary,” says Lucille O’Neal, the mother of Shaquille O’Neal and a former president of MPBP. “The best place to learn is from each other. Deloris, Michael Jordan’s mom, and Charcey, Charles Barkley’s mom—I’ll never forget what I learned from those two women. Some of us have gone through the very same experiences, and we felt we could be a help to one another.”
