Shaquille O’Neal is back with another – shall we say – wagering opportunity. Just last week, we wrote about how the big man challenged his Inside the NBA co-star Charles Barkley to ride a teeny-tiny kids bike on the set of the show. Needless to say, that didn’t’ work out so well for Sir Charles. Now O’Neal is back with another idea, involving a LOT more money.
On the most recent edition of his “The Big Podcast With Shaq,” the big man had a bit of a learning / educational moment. As the show went along, co-host Nischelle Turner pulled out a drawing that O’Neal’s daughter had created, showing it to the video audience, and suggesting that maybe she’d want to start selling her artwork.
Interestingly, the suggested price started out at $100,000. Too much? Well, Turner followed up by saying (joking?) that “If Scottie can do it, so can you!”
What she was talking about is this: Former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen has this little offer out there. For the curious price of $330,000, he and his son Scottie Junior will play a some two-on-two against you and your guest. Along with that, guests enjoy dinner with the Pippens and receive an autographed copy of his Pippens memoir, Unguarded.
Well, this must have been news to Shaq. Once he heard it on the podcast, he instantly wanted to take Scottie up on it. Not so much for the meet-and-greet and dinner, but definitely for the two-on-two opportunity to play another one of the biggest names of that era in the NBA.
Shaq’s offer: “I’ll match him and me and Shareef will play against him and his son, and the winner takes that $666,000. Yeah, I said it. You heard what I said. I will match it and me and Shareef will play him and Scottie, best out of seven games. And the winner takes that $666,000.”
Click here for the full podcast – The Big Podcast With Shaq
So a couple of interesting differences to unpack there. Shaq is talking about a full-on series with the Pippen team, a best of seven, just like the NBA tournament. And he’s doubled the money, up to $666,000. Maybe he was thinking it was $330,000 per man?
Also, Shaq did say he wasn’t exactly ready right now… or maybe he was thinking of his son. O’Neal said he’d “need about seven months” to get ready for the challenge. That would give him time to work out, and to be done with the current NBA season and his commitment to Inside the NBA coverage.
We’re not sure about Shaq’s ability to play at this time… he’s definitely been working out and getting in better and better shape (see previous posts on the big man’s physique). Hoops skills might be a bit rusty, but we’re sure that’ll come back to him quickly. As for his son, Shareef is probably ready to go right now. While he wasn’t drafted by an NBA team this past fall, he did sign with the Las Vegas Ignite, one of the league’s developmental teams. .
The O’Neals vs. the Pippens? That’s a series we’d love to see. Maybe they can turn it into a pay-per-view series and make some money for charity. Sounds good to us!