Emotional Shaquille O’Neal Prides Over His Army Military Training, Reveals Why Orlando Honor Will Be Sad

The next few weeks will be a memorable one for Shaquille O’Neal. The #1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft is all set to get his jersey retired by the Orlando Magic on February 13. This is indeed one of the biggest honors of his career, but the basketball legend believes all this love and respect should go to his late stepfather, Philip Harrison. Shaq got his jersey retired by two other teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. Yet, this one is the closest to Shaq for a few reasons, and the 4x NBA champion is sad that his father will not be able to savor the moments. 

O’Neal got his jersey retired by the Lakers in April 2013, soon after which his military father passed away. He was not alive to witness the Miami Heat retiring Shaq’s jersey. The same goes for the upcoming honor, but Shaq will reminisce about the memorable moments he had with his father. One of them would be the harsh military training that his dad gave him. Looking back on an infamous moment of his, the 2000 NBA MVP shared with People Magazine, “When I was getting laughed at in high school for not being able to dunk, my father would just take me and we’d do the army military training.“

Harrison would whisper into Shaq’s ears, “I’ll get you better than Kareem”. This encouragement is where it all started for Shaq.

Devastatingly, the late sergeant who shaped Shaq’s life and who wanted his son to be on a big stage like this will not be alive to cherish it. Shaq revealed, “It actually makes me sad.” One thing is abundantly clear. Shaquille O’Neal would not be the same if not for his stepfather.

Shaquille O’Neal will miss another important person on February 13

O’Neal has revealed his deep connection with the Orlando Magic franchise. Particularly, its owners. They invested a lot in the 7-footer and had a lot of trust in him. This was because of the ex-Magic owner, Rich DeVos, who wanted Shaq over other talented players in the 1992 draft.

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Shaq looked back into his first conversation with DeVos, “I remember when I met with him, he said, ‘Hey, you’re going come in and we’ll pay you a lot of money and we’re going to have fun. Are you ready for that pressure?’ And I said, ‘Yes sir, Mr. DeVos, I’m ready,’ “

Devos passed away at the age of 92 in 2018. Shaq played only four seasons with the Magic, but they were very special. He won Rookie of the Year in 2003 and also took the Magic to the NBA Finals for the first time in their history.

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It would have been a dream come true if Shaq’s father and DeVos were alive to watch this honor. However, Shaq’s mother will be there, compensating for the two.