Shaquille O’Neal became the eighth person to have a statue in their likeness outside Staples Center in Los Angeles, and in true Shaq form, the ceremony brought lots of awesomeness.
After spending the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Orlando Magic, O’Neal signed with the Lakers as a free agent in 1996. He would go on to play eight seasons in Los Angeles, helping them to three consecutive championships. O’Neal was named Finals MVP three times and won his only regular season MVP Award while with the Lakers.
In 2013, the Lakers retired O’Neal’s No. 34 jersey. On Friday, his bronze statue was unveiled.
It's official!@SHAQ's statue is unveiled at Staples Center. #TheBigStatue pic.twitter.com/DGdoOkS76G
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 25, 2017
There were plenty of cool things to come out of the Shaq statue unveiling. Here are the five best.
1. Snoop Dogg had a huge seating section for the ceremony
Not surprisingly, big names showed for the event, including longtime Lakers fan Snoop Dogg, who had a rather large seating section.
Mr. Dogg's section for the Shaq statue unveiling. pic.twitter.com/M07RRMWvBK
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 24, 2017
2. Kobe showed up and had high praise for his former teammate
Bryant was in attendance and got to speak. He called O’Neal the most dominant player he’s ever seen.
Kobe calls Shaq "the most dominant player I've ever seen."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) March 24, 2017
He also sent the following tweet:
Congrats on the statue @SHAQ. U rightfully join the legends before u while inspiring those who come next #lakers #TheBigStatue #TheBigBronze
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) March 25, 2017
Bryant and Shaq notoriously clashed and had a big rivalry after Shaq was trade to Miami, but they accomplished a lot together as teammates.
3. There were lots of jokes about Shaq’s poor free throw shooting
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who also has a statue on the grounds, managed to get in a joke about O’Neal’s notoriously bad free throw shooting.
Kareem: "Some of us thought the odds of Kobe Bryant showing up today were the same odds of Shaq sinking a free throw."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) March 24, 2017
Even Shaq cracked one at his own expense.
"To the fans … I heard you in the game when I was missing free throws." – Shaq
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 25, 2017
Shaq was a career 52.7 percent free throw shooter.
4. Shaq gives Jerry West an assist for his punch of Greg Ostertag
When it was time for the man of the hour to address the crowd, O’Neal told a great story about Jerry West encouraging him to punch Greg Ostertag.
Shaq said it was Jerry West who encouraged him to punch former Jazz center Greg Ostertag
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) March 25, 2017
We believe this was a reference to the time Shaq was suspended and fined in 1997 for slapping the former Utah Jazz center.
5. Shaq couldn’t resist a zinger for Vlade Divac
Vlade was the Lakers center before Shaq came to town. The current Sacramento Kings exec was known for his flopping back when he played.
Shaq with a shot at Vlade, just for kicks apparently. "I saw Vlade with his flopping self"
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) March 25, 2017
When O’Neal is involved, there’s always a good chance for high entertainment value. Friday’s ceremony was certainly no different.
Shaq joins Abdul-Jabbar, Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, and Oscar De La Hoya with statues around Staples Center in Los Angeles.
