Shaquille O’Neal on Father Slapping the Magic Johnson Craze Out of Him: “I See This Big Black Dude Walking Up the Court”

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson is an inspiration to millions around the world. The same can be said about a fellow Laker, Shaquille O’Neal. Known for his incredible physicality, Shaq broke rims with ease. However, at the start of his basketball journey, he tried to copy Magic.

In the recently released ‘Shaq‘ documentary, the life and career of the 7-foot-1 inches tall NBA legend are covered extensively. Talking about his childhood, O’Neal revealed an interesting fact. He regularly tried to play like Magic Johnson on the court which once led to a slap from his father.

Shaquille O’Neal was slapped by his father for copying Lakers legend

The showtime Lakers were the highlight of the 80s. Led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Los Angeles Lakers dominated the league for a long time. Naturally, many kids growing up during this time idolized the two legends.

Shaquille O’Neal was among the millions of fans who looked up to Magic Johnson growing up. Interestingly enough, he pulled off some signature Magic moves on the court.

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During one of his high school games, Shaq was in a comfortable position after crossing a player. However, instead of just normally dunking the ball, he pulled off a fancy move.

The finger roll didn’t end well for Shaq as he missed the opportunity. O’Neal’s stepfather, Phillip Harrison immediately called for a timeout and slapped his son.

Shaq said, “All of a sudden, I see this big black dude walking up the court in his fatigue, it’s my father, the Sarge. He said call the timeout. Yes sir.”

O’Neal added, “He said, “what you doing?” I said I’m just working on my Magic.. (Slapped). “F**k that!” Be Shaquille O’Neal, Dunk it every f**king time!”

Interestingly enough, this incident brought about a change in O’Neal. He went the extra mile every time a dunking opportunity arose.

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Subsequently, Shaq channeled his anger on the rims while dunking. As a result, players started to fear the dominance of the Big Diesel, which would help create his legend later on.