O'Neal credited his motivation for winning four NBA championships—three with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Miami Heat—to Abdul-remarks Jabbar
Day 11 of Black History Month
One of the most significant events that occurred in the NBA during the last week was the night that LeBron James shattered another Lakers icon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbarall-time ,’s scoring record.
Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the best players in the history of the sport, were not on good terms. Abdul-Jabbar reportedly objected to being compared to Shaq when O’Neal initially entered the NBA in 1992, according to Sports Manor. Although he had chats with O’Neal’s colleagues while he was a member of the Lakers squad, the retired player did not have much to say to O’Neal because he had not won an NBA championship by the time he joined the team in 1996.
O’Neal credited his motivation for winning four NBA championships—three with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Miami Heat—to Abdul-remarks Jabbar’s that the rookie center wasn’t winning championships. In his illustrious career, Abdul-Jabbar won six titles. The two former Lakers stars briefly made up on TNT, where O’Neal is a part of the renowned Inside the NBA team, towards the conclusion of Tuesday night’s broadcast of James’ record-breaking game. Prior to the program’s conclusion, Abdul-Jabbar said:
“Hey, and I wanna tell Shaq I asked for you specifically this evening, because you felt like I was shaming you, or ignoring you. That would never be the case—and you showed them what you were all about the way you crushed all those centers in the league for a couple of years there. So, I’m on your side Shaq. Don’t ever let anybody tell you anything different.”
(Screenshot: YouTube/House of Highlights)
O’Neal responded:
“Listen, you not speaking to me was the best thing to happen to my career. Because all I wanted to do was impress you. So I will talk to you soon, and I love you very much. I will never ever have beef with the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You ain’t got to worry about that.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A50mJscwL8Q
This is what we love to see in the black community, glad this two legends showed love to each other. – Steve Sijenyi
LIT604.com Is celebrating Black history month by publishing Positive news on Black people across Canada and United States throughout the month of February. Lit604 Founder Steve-Safari Sijenyi is producing and releasing a YouTube video everyday at 7pm PT that showcases Black people who embodied the spirit of Black Excellence, Black Led Enterprises, Black-run organizations, Black allies and Pro-Black Organizations and Leaders from the public and private sector.
