We all know Shaquille O’Neal, a.k.a. Shaq, as one of the most recognizable basketball personalities. We also understood he got to this point because he was one of the most dominant big men in NBA history.
What we didn’t know was that Shaq wasn’t always SHAQ.
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In the latest episode of The Big Podcast, O’Neal and former NBA player and current analyst and podcaster JJ Redick touched on their beginnings as basketball players. The conversation eventually reaches a point about when both first dunked a ball. Redick admitted that he hit a big growth spurt as a teenager and could then dunk with two hands. O’Neal, meanwhile, didn’t believe it. He said he couldn’t dunk until he was 17, despite being 6-foot-11.
Uh, what?
Naturally, this reveal caught Redick off guard, who inadvertently roasted the Hall of Famer with a shocked comment:
JJ Redick: “In 8th grade, I hit this growth spurt. 5’6 to 6’3. Being able to dunk with two hands at 13.”
Shaq: “You’re not f*cking dunking at 13. I wasn’t dunking till 17.”
JJ: “There was something physically wrong with you then.” 😅
(via @playmaker) pic.twitter.com/kmO4zBIKxg
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 1, 2024
Look, it all worked out for O’Neal in the end, anyway. After growing into the game, he eventually helped his high school team in San Antonio win a state championship. He then parlayed that into becoming a two-time All-American and 1991 Men’s National Player of the Year honors at LSU.
After that, well, you know the rest.
O’Neal went on to become an all-time dominant big man in the NBA, qualifying for 15 All-Star teams while winning four championships with the Los Angeles Lakers (3) and the Miami Heat (1). And he did a lot of that while dunking the heck out of the basketball on so many defenders who had no business guarding him.
Which … is kinda funny when you think about a very tall, inexperienced, and young O’Neal not actually being able to dunk. I guess we truly all gotta somewhere, folks.
