The documentary series of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal called ‘SHAQ’ by HBO has taken the basketball world by storm. The series features the interviews of O’Neal, his friends, teammates, and family as it tells the story of the former MVP. While the show chronicles his rise to stardom, it also reveals some interesting details about his upbringing, family, and his life off the court. Shaq has always been open about his father’s ways of upbringing. While many people might not agree with his ways, he does.

In the first episode of the show, O’Neal and others disclosed some interesting information about his childhood. Also, it covered the early struggles of Shaq playing basketball. Then, his rise to the national scene and his early years in the NBA with the Orlando Magic. The second episode was out recently and it talks about his time with the Los Angeles Lakers among other things.

Shaquille O’Neal on his father’s phone call during a playoff game

Shaquille O’Neal was already a superstar when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers. But his early years were not very successful. Then things finally took shape when Phil Jackson joined as the head coach. However, O’Neal still needed some words of encouragement from his father, Phillip A Harrison, now and then.

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The Lakers were struggling against the Sacramento Kings in the 2000 playoffs. The series was tied at 2-2. Shaq’s security, Uncle Jerome, received a call from his father who was not happy with his son’s performance. O’Neal was in the middle of the game but his father did not care. The four-time champion imitated the phone call in the show.

Shaq said, “Yes sir. ‘Why the f**k am I watching this sh*t, you’re playing like a little bit*h!’ Yes sir. ‘Turn it up moth*****ker!'”

That was all he needed to hear and The Big Diesel willed his team past the Kings. He averaged 29.4 points, 17.4 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game in the series. After winning the series, Shaq thanked his father. He said, “First of all I’d like to thank my role model, my mentor, Phillip Harrison.”

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O’Neal signed one of the biggest contracts at the time when he joined the Lakers. His move brought huge excitement to the Lakers fans. Given his huge contract, Shaq was under a lot of pressure to deliver. After initial struggles to help the team, O’Neal finally delivered as helped the Lakers win three straight titles from 2000 to 03.