“I Thought I Was Dead”: Shaquille O’Neal Recalls Heartwarming Encounter With NBA Idol During Teenage Years

Let’s be real. If we saw our idol in real life, we’d probably feel like Shaq did. The big man has said it time and again, if there was no Dr. J, there wouldn’t have been Shaquille O’Neal. It was watching the living legend Julius Erving in action on the court that spurred O’Neal to pursue basketball. The second time he saw Dr. J in the flesh, Shaq said on The Big Podcast, “I thought I was dead.”

Shaq hosted his lifelong hero on the podcast along with DC Young. So they had to talk about the first time the then-LSU junior met the basketball superstar. A confident O’Neal knew he was going straight to the NBA. So he slacked off a little bit and ended up having an ‘awakening’ experience from his idol.

“Coach [Dale] Brown had a had this thing if you miss class you’re going to have to run.” But Shaq was bound for the 1992 NBA draft and decided, with two months to go, he could skip the 8 am class. “I was sleeping and Dr. J was in my room when he put his hand on my chest and he woke me up. That was my first time physically meeting him.” 

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That was no fever dream. Dr. J was there to set him straight. “He was in my room and he said, ‘hey man, Coach Brown said meet him at the track.'” DC Young rightfully hooted at this plot twist. A young O’Neal’s reaction to waking up to Dr. J in his room was different. “I was like what. And when I looked up, I thought I was dead, bro.”

That’s a far cry from Shaq’s self-admitted persona. He thought he was the big deal on campus at that time (which he was) and could do whatever he wanted. Till, of course, his coach sent a bigger man to handle him. But what was Dr. J doing in Shaq’s campus room?

Dr. J sought Shaquille O’Neal

Dr. J explained that to DC Young too. “I was trying to recruit him for Converse.” Erving had an exclusive deal with Converse since 1975. Through his career and retirement in 1987, he became the brand’s full-time ambassador and trustee and served on the board of directors. Converse was keen on getting O’Neal before he would become the first overall draft pick in 1992.

So Erving came to LSU, “Coach Brown gave me access to the room. He said, ‘go on in there, he probably just resting, but tell him he going to have to run because he knows the rules here.”

Unlike Shaq, Erving did exactly as Dale Brown said. He’s still amazed that the encounter stuck with Shaq. He’d never successfully sign O’Neal, however, who went on to become Reebok’s first signature athlete. What would you do in Shaq’s place if Dr. J woke you up to run laps?

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