Ever imagined Paul George taking over the center position on the hardwood? It sounds odd, right? But what if I tell you, it could’ve been the case if the 8x NBA All-Star hadn’t taken a stern call in his childhood? Yes, whatever you read was right. The Philadelphia 76ers star was growing up to become another Shaquille O’Neal until the unexpectedly hilarious moment.

Before Shaq became the LA Lakers Shaq, he had an explosive stint with the Orlando Magic for four seasons. This short stint was enough for the big man to set the stage for redefining the center position. Dr. Diesel brought dominance and physicality to the rim protection business and went on to become one of the best centers in the league’s history.

Of course, anyone would get drawn to the magnetism of his game. And Paul George’s father wasn’t any different. Looking at his son’s growth spurt at a very young George Sr. wanted to transform his son into Shaq 2.0. Featuring in Podcast P with Paul George, he said, “I’m thinking he was gonna be real real tall. Okay, he gonna play center… and then at the time, Shaq was the man he was with the Magic… I’m buying everything Magic.” 

Unfortunately, Paul George felt differently than his dad. While George Sr. obsessed over the Magic franchise and center position, PG dropped the hammer on his dad. Narrating the childhood tale on the podcast show, the star’s dad said, “Paul’s looking at me. he’s like, ‘Dad I know you like Shaq and all that, but… I am not gonna play no center.'” Grinning with the narration, he added, “You going to be kind of tall, you know, you might want to try to play center, you know stick on that, you know. He was like, ‘No'”

Paul George and his Shaq connection

While the NBA world missed out on another Shaq, there is a blessing in disguise. Paul George emerged as one of the greatest handles in the NBA world. The star’s father added how the star dribbled the ball almost all the time. George Sr. continued, “Every day he was out there dribbling the ball he was dribbling walking to school dribbling walking back. so he just got in his dribbles handles and all.” 

However, on the other hand, there is a seamless parallel between the duo. While PG discarded Shaq’s route in his childhood, the big man disregarded the star’s opinion on live TV. After losing the playoff first round in Game 6 last season, George said, “f you fail, you fail. Live with the results.” 

Shaq wasn’t a big fan of the statement and he immediately slandered the star. He said, “No, I ain’t going with that. If you fail, you can’t fail… If you play hard and play with a lot of effort, that’s not a failure. You play hard, you go out there and get 15 points when you are 2-15, nah, I ain’t living with that.” Most importantly, the two have evened out their silent beef. Do you think Paul George would respond to the callout once again? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.