They held the game in Cleveland, and Ohio superstar LeBron James hit the game-winning shot. Along with that buzzer-beater moment, Steph Curry put on a 3-point shooting masterclass. Overall, a pretty good game.
Along with the on-court action, the weekend also featured a special ceremony to honor what’s being called the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team. There was a big introduction at halftime, and our man Shaq – and a good number of former Lakers – put in nice appearances.
Along with O’Neal, other Los Angeles greats on hand included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and Jerry West (the logo!). Shaq would have been there anyway, since he was part of the broadcast team for the TNT network.
As we know from seeing him on TV (and elsewhere) for years, Shaq doesn’t get emotional over much, at least not in public where we see him. Still, the big man made a really heartfelt speech, thanking those who pushed him to stardom.
The list O’Neal mentioned and thanked were not just NBA players and coaches. Shaq started things off by thanking his step-father for pushing him to become a dominant big man despite his desire to play on the perimeter like Julius Erving and Johnson. (Can’t really imagine what that would have looked like!)
O’Neal continued down his list, thanking fellow centers like David Robinson and Abdul-Jabbar for inspiring him and pushing him to be the best possible player he could be.
The Laker legend also thanked then Lakers General Manager Jerry West for sitting him down when he came to Los Angeles and indoctrinating him into the Lakers way of play.
He also thanked a group of family and friends who where along with him on the journey. Finally, O’Neal concluded his speech by lamenting that his father, sister and Kobe Bryant were not present at the ceremony and credited each of them the most for getting him to where he is today.
It was an emotional and heartfelt moment for O’Neal and it speaks to how difficult his journey was to become one of the league’s best players ever. O’Neal making the NBA’s 75th team was well-deserved and it was great to see him celebrated.
Of course Shaq is still a careful observer – and sometimes critic – of his former Lakers. Recently, he was seen in the seats courtside when they took on the Orlando Magic.
In fact, it was in the middle of the game that O’Neal was spotted talking to Westbrook. Later it was disclosed that he told the guard that he needed to play slower. When asked about the interaction, Westbrook said he appreciated O’Neal’s advice and would work on it the remainder of the season.
Hats off to our man Shaq for his latest honor and recognition.