Back in the day, Shaquille O’Neal was breaking rims, and being a brutal force with no mercy. 13 years after retiring, his favorite NBA player can’t be farther than his own style of play. The Big Aristotle has long admired Warriors star Stephen Curry. Apart from questionably terming himself the “Black Stephen Curry”, a stunning reason O’Neal loves Curry is because of his transcending nature and the appearance of a “normal office guy”.

From the tangibles alone, Stephen Curry isn’t the biggest dude, nor the most athletic. Compare him to his eternal rival, LeBron James. He is 65 lbs lighter and also smaller. However, not only does James acknowledge his greatness, but because of his trend-setting shooting, the basketball world recognized shooting as the ultimate norm.

Shaq spoke about it in detail when appearing on Angel Reese’s Unapologetically Me podcast. Gravitating from some changes he feels the WNBA can bring, the Big Diesel dwelled into why he marvels at Curry. “You know why I love Stephen Curry? Because I have never seen that before… He ain’t got LeBron muscle. He’s not 6’9″, 6’10”, he looks like a perfect normal office guy. But he’s doing stuff that people never seen before,” the Hall of Famer added. That’s the same reason he loves WNBA phenom Caitlin Clark.

But the pioneer of such a prototype of a player came through the wizardry displays of Stephen Curry. It’s far more than him becoming an NBA great without the physical advantage. The impact he has had on the game and its trajectory today is seismic, to say the least. Because of him, centers have begun expanding their game to the three-point line. Additionally, no matter the size or speed on the court, he has set a precedent for anybody to succeed in the game, provided they work hard to carve a niche such as his.

Millions can dream of being in the NBA because of the way he plays. And without realizing it, he has also made the basic skill of shooting a non-negotiable norm of today’s game. Coming back to the Big Aristotle’s self-knighted title for himself. The term ‘Black Stephen Curry’ originates from his time in the gyms years after finishing his NBA career.

Shaq has his reasons to be jealous of Stephen Curry

Watching the advent of floor-stretching big men such as Joel Embiid and Jokic makes him jealous. “I’m jealous of them because I wish I was allowed to do that,” he told Draymond Green in a conversation.

The 3x Finals MVP is fully aware that the only man behind the invention, or let’s say demand, is none other than Stephen Curry. So why not just emulate the best at the task? But unlike Chef, Shaq can’t make 105 threes in a row. He will celebrate even if he makes one of 190 threes. “That s**t f***ing feel good, to step out and shoot that 3, bro,” he realizes. But his admiration runs far deeper.

Despite his ruthless dominance, Shaquille O’Neal openly puts Stephen Curry above him as an all-time great. Additionally, he also had the opportunity to share some kind words with his mother, Sonya Curry. Earlier this year, Sonya and Shaq’s mother, Lucille, formed a partnership to launch Raising Fame, a podcast showcasing the efforts of parents of high-profile athletes.

During their first episode, both their NBA sons sent surprise messages to them. “Good morning, Mommy. Thank you for being a loving, super fabulous, intelligent, beautiful, and positive role model in the lives of not just me, but our entire family. I can’t say thank you enough, so I’m going to say it five times in a row: thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you… Hi, Mrs. Curry. Love you, too!” Shaq said in his video. 

No matter what happens, Shaq regards Curry as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. The mutual respect goes far beyond their NBA exploits, and there is no reason for it to wane any time in the future.