NBA legend doesn’t hold back on relationship with current players
You would think that an NBA legend like Shaquille O’Neal would constantly be exchanging messages with current NBA players.
So he’s a legend. Who better to ask about a career in the NBA than him?
But you’d be wrong, and there’s a pretty simple reason why Shaq isn’t playing digital pen pals with current players.
Photo: Shaquille O’Neal (Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
In an interview with The New York Post, Shaq was asked who he was in contact with and he didn’t hold back.
“None of them. I don’t like athletes or superstars because they are a-holes,” he said. “About 10 years ago I blamed myself for being famous because these people were weird. I’m not weird.”
I get it… but I didn’t know you could blame celebrity status or that Shaq did that.
I was actually under the impression that he was still a celebrity.
So the guy has head-shaped gummy candies. They don’t just give these to anyone.
If that were the case, I’d have a giant sack of my own gummy heads sitting in my pantry right now.
I thought this was a very interesting approach as it’s quite common for former players – especially those who have moved into a media role – but I find it oddly refreshing to hear someone with the opposite approach.
In fact, this tells you that when Shaq gives an opinion about a current player or situation, he doesn’t voice it because he’ll face a barrage of angry text messages.
February 15, 2020; Chicago, Illinois, USA; NBA star Shaquille O’Neal at the United Center on NBA All Star Saturday Night. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
No, he can call balls and take strikes with impunity.
Plus, there won’t be a hole to blow up your phone, which is always a nice thing.
Shaq also said he wanted to be a regular guy and liked it when he showed up at the tm:rw tech store he co-owns.
Orlando Magic’s Shaquille O’Neal #32 poses for a portrait on October 29, 1993 in London, England. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
“Whenever I come, it’s just me and two guys. I don’t have any surroundings. Nobody comes except the kids at home,” he said. “We come here, we take care of our business… We sign autographs. We treat people with dignity and respect… I want to be an ordinary man.”
