Shaquille O’Neal Once Shoved Birthday Plans Aside Only to Catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Attention Amid Struggling Rivalry

Shaq has many interesting stories to tell, and he recently regaled us with a tale from the 2000s, when he was the powerhouse of the Lakers and decided to serve his wise-cracking opponents with a big slice of humble pie.

Shaquille O’Neal’s rivals were the Clippers and former Lakers star Kareem Abdul Jabbar. O’Neal is indeed one of the kindest and most entertaining people in the league, but he is also the league’s mastermind and legend, an insurmountable force when provoked. How do you think he took his revenge? Furthermore, what actions by the Los Angeles Clippers provoked him?

Shaquille O’Neal stayed with his team to beat the Clippers

Shaq wasn’t one to beat around the bush when it came to dominating the court. He showed it in his game against the Clippers in 2000. Recently in an interview with the Rich Eisen Show, the legend shared the story with his listeners. As he recalled, on his birthday on March 6, 2000, the Lakers were facing the Clippers and Jabbar was an assistant coach for the team.

Since it was his birthday, Big Aristotle had plans to receive fouls intentionally and get ejected from the team. But watching the Clippers throwing shade to his team, the legend was motivated to defeat them. Moreover, there was another incident that added more fuel to the fire: he was charged money for the extra tickets. 

Though he had earlier plans of leaving the game to Kobe Bryant, Shaq stayed with his team and eventually defeated the Clippers. He explained, “We’re playing the Clippers I was like Kobe you do it, but when I first got there, I asked for some extra tickets and they charged me, I said excuse me? because I asked because I had people flying into town so I need 30 tickets, and they came with the bill.” He elaborated, “I was already upset and then you know the Clippers came out I mean because the Clippers never really beat us but they came out that day and they were talking smack and all that I was just so upset I was like all right just give me the damn ball and just watch me go to work.”

Speaking about Abdul Jabbar, he added, “I never knew Kareem was on their coaching staff so like I was running up and I was like is that Kareem and then Kareem was whispering into like one of the staff’s ears,” He added, “I was like oh Kareem you gonna tell him to try and then I got the ball and I did the Skyhook and Kareem never looked at me so I wanted to put on the show for him.”

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Shaquille O’Neal’ dropped 61 against Clippers

During the initial half of the game, the LA Lakers found themselves grappling to secure a strong foothold on the court. However, O’Neal was able to get back at them. He scored a whopping 61 points and had 11 dunks in three quarters. During the interview, O’Neal seemed satisfied with his vengeance.

Gleaming with pride, he added that he had to prioritize the game before his birthday party to score that win. Did you know about this? Let us know in the comments section below.

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