By Guillaume K. | Sports journalist
Shaquille O’Neal, after his departure from the Lakers, was not necessarily on very good terms with Kobe Bryant. So one day, while meeting the Mamba’s worst enemy in a nightclub, he made a big decision to drive the latter crazy.
Shaquille O’Neal is considered one of the greatest pivots in the history of basketball, as one of the best players even, and he managed to rise to the heights of the hierarchy with a recognized lack of seriousness. Where some superstars kill themselves in training and work overtime, he was content with the union minimum.
It is no coincidence that he has had several careers aside from the one he had in the NBA. Diesel was also a popular rapper in the 90s, an actor, the hero of a video game series, an entrepreneur… Fortunately, he could count on monstrous talent and unique athletic qualities in history.
Shaq’s wonderful gesture for a Kobe rival
But in all of this, he has not lost values that are essential to him, such as altruism and benevolence. The proof with this crazy anecdote told by Smush Parker in the podcast of journalist Pablo Torre. Indeed, the former Lakers leader would have encountered Shaq in a nightclub one evening, and the latter would have completely changed the course of his career.
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One night I went out to New York to watch a Roy Jones Jr. fight, and I was alone. Who arrives in the box, alone too? Shaquille O’Neal. So we end up in the same VIP box to watch the fight. So we started sharing our different stories with Kobe Bryant. Shaq is the coolest person in history.
At one point he asked me where I was playing and if I had any plans for the future. I responded that I was a free agent and still waiting for a good opportunity. He made a phone call, and the next day my agent called me to offer me a contract with the Heat. A guaranteed contract, the very first of my career in the NBA.
At that time, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were not necessarily on very good terms, they who were still digesting their separation at the Lakers. So when the pivot fell on Smush Parker, another enemy of the Mamba, he was quick to offer him a contract with the Heat, alongside him. An antagonistic gesture which left its mark on the leader.
Shaquille O’Neal hated Kobe Bryant so much at that time that he had offered a contract to his worst enemy. The adventure did not last long, since Smush Parker only played 8 games with the Heat.
2023-12-31 18:00:00
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