Tag: shaquille o’neal

Trinity Rodman glad to get USWNT roster shout-out from ‘Uncle Shaq’

What connection could a USWNT forward have to an NBA legend?

Even U.S. women’s national team players lean on a family connection every now and then.

U.S. Soccer pulled out all the stops in a roster announcement hype video, getting President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to introduce what turned out to be a list of mostly non-soccer celebrities to congratulate each player for making the squad.

The connections varied, with Alex Morgan getting a shout-out from her friend Taylor Swift, while one Megan (Rapinoe) got a message from another (Thee Stallion). College connections and shared home states, came up more than once, but in some cases the link was a little more personal.

Trinity Rodman, for one, has known the big name chosen to help announce to the world that she was going to her first World Cup for a long time.

“Mine was cool. Uncle Shaq,” joked Rodman while speaking to reporters on Thursday about Shaquille O’Neal, the famously tall former NBA legend and friend of the family through her father, former Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman. “Obviously Shaq and my dad were friends and stuff, and he saw me at a really young age… It was awesome. And he’s super cool.”

There may have been more degrees of separation for Andi Sullivan and actor Rainn Wilson, but the link wouldn’t have happened without someone close to the Washington Spirit midfielder.

“I love The Office. I also just found out that my husband was involved in the suggestion of that,” explained Sullivan, whose husband Drew Skundrich plays for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks of the USL Championship. “When I told him about it, I was like ‘oh my gosh, they know me so well,’ and he was like, ‘no, Andi, I know you so well.’ So, I love that so much, and I love Rainn Wilson.”

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Former Boston big man Shaq tries an vegan restaurant

See how it goes down with Shaq Diesel and company despite there being not a lick of meat to be seen in the entire joint.

As the owner of multiple popular restaurant chains in his post-NBA life, it is no secret Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man Shaquille O’Neal likes to eat. So much so that the Big Aristotle has helped his equally big appetite out while doing us all a public service of reviewing little-known culinary gems on the YouTube-based “Urban Eats and Treats” show.

In the most recent episode, Shaq and cohost Rip Michaels visited Slutty Vegan, a restaurant chain based in Atlanta, Georgia (as one might have already guessed). They sampled the offerings of their innuendo-laden, cruelty-free vegetarian fast food fare.

To see how it goes down with Shaq Diesel and company despite there being not a lick of meat to be seen in the entire joint, take a look at the clip embedded below.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Shaquille O’Neal helped Gary Payton move on from Michael Jordan Bulls

While Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls prevented Gary Payton from winning a title in 1996, Shaquille O’Neal helped him move past it.

In the 1990s, there was no other team like the Chicago Bulls. With Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen at the helm, the Bulls dominated every team that stood in their way, winning six titles in eight years and preventing some of the game’s greatest talents from winning a championship ring. Guys like Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, and Patrick Ewing could never get the job done, largely thanks to Jordan.

Another player who wasn’t able to win a ring in the 1990s was Gary Payton, who led his Seattle Supersonics to the 1996 NBA Finals but lost to Jordan. Luckily for him, Shaquille O’Neal was there to save the day.

During a recent edition of “The Big Podcast,” O’Neal spoke about his decision to bring Payton on board with the Miami Heat in 2006 and finally get him a ring, taking him out of the conversation of people who were stopped at the door by Jordan.

“I don’t want you on that list,” O’Neal said. “You shouldn’t be on that list. We had a tough era. You gotta go through Mike. We had to go through a lot of people. Gary, they made it one time and went up against Mike. I didn’t want him to be on that list. So I’m like, you know what, you need to come out here with me. I’m gonna get you one because I know I needed a tough point guard.”

Payton won a ring with the Heat in 2006, effectively erasing the narrative that he wasn’t able to get over the hump because of Jordan. And while that second part is still technically true, O’Neal made sure to push it into the background.

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All of the best of ‘Shaqtin’ a Fool’ for the NBA’s 2022-23 season

The Celtics make an appearance in it alongside their Atlantic Division rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers.

By now, if you have not seen an episode of the “Shaqtin’ a Fool” segment put together for former Celtic Shaquille O’Neal while watching the Hall of Fame big man on the call for an NBA game, we have to wonder if you might have just emerged from cryonic sleep or some similar time-distorting device.

The wildly popular segment poking fun of some of the zaniest moments to be seen on a basketball court in the league has had another annual compilation assembled for the 2022-23 campaign, and the Celtics make an appearance in it alongside their Atlantic Division rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers.

You might already be able to guess the moment in question even based on those sparse clues given the hilarity of the moment.

But just in case you can’t, take a look at the clip embedded above to see it for yourself, along with much of the funniest moments on the hardwood last season.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Former Celtics center Shaquille O’Neal wants to split up Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum

Shaq sees a split between star wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as desirable for the Celtics given their new cap reality.

With the sting of the Boston Celtics’ loss in the NBA’s 2023 East finals to the Miami Heat having subsided in most corners, the appetite for rash, large-scale moves with the Celtics’ roster seems to have also drawn down from fans and analysts alike.

There are some who believe the league’s new collective bargaining agreement should have Boston considering making a massive move on the trade market to get ahead of the pinch the CBA will deliver to the Celtics’ team-building capabilities soon enough.

Count former Boston big man Shaquille O’Neal among them. He sees a split of star wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as desirable for the Celtics given their new cap reality.

“I don’t want five stars on my team,” shared Shaq on a recent episode of the “The Big Three” podcast (h/t/ Yard Barker’s Ashish Mathur).

“I want a guy that I can go to every night, I want a guy that’s going to lead, and I want three dogs, three others,” he added. “I would prefer if they were specialists: one to be a shooter, one to be a rebounder and one to be a fighter.”

The path to getting such a roster for the LSU alum? “I would, business-wise, break (Jayson Tatum and Brown) up and use one of them to get the pieces I want.”

“I will say Tatum is the No. 1, use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player, and then just do it like that,” he added. Given the Celtics have a Brown-like player on their roster already named. … Jaylen, we’re entirely out on such a scenario save the former Cal standout himself asking out of the team.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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A lovely mural honoring Lakers legends was unveiled in Koreatown

A look at the beautiful new mural created by artist Jonas Never that honors three eras of Lakers championship basketball.

As everybody knows, the Los Angeles Lakers boast one of the richest histories in the world of sports, and their lineage of all-time greats rivals that of any other team in any sport.

There was the George Mikan era. There was the era of Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain. There was the Showtime era of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Of course, the 2000s belonged to Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.

These days, the purple and gold torch is in the hands of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

A new mural honoring Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, Bryant (who was depicted twice as No. 8 and No. 24), O’Neal, Gasol, Davis and James was unveiled in Koreatown, and it is a thing of beauty.

The mural was created by Jonas Never, who has made numerous murals across the greater Los Angeles area, including other murals of Bryant and James.

Robert Horry says Hakeem Olajuwon and not Shaquille O’Neal was the best big man he played with

Former Laker Robert Horry may have thrown a bit of shade at his old teammate Shaquille O’Neal while on the podcast “All The Smoke.”

Robert Horry was one of the more beloved role players in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers. He hit some of the biggest game-winning and game-clinching shots in team history, including, of course, his dagger at the buzzer of Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference finals against the Sacramento Kings.

Neither the Kings nor the city of Sacramento has gotten over that 3-pointer, even 20 years later. But Horry’s contributions to the early 2000s Lakers went far beyond shots like that.

He is also one of the luckiest players in NBA history. He won multiple rings with three teams: the Lakers, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. In doing so, he played with Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan, probably the three best big men of the last 30 years.

On a recent episode of the “All The Smoke” podcast, Horry may have irked some Lakers fans when he said Olajuwon, not O’Neal, was the best big man he ever played with (h/t Lakers Nation).

“All the other teams I played for, the one common denominator was great big men. Think about it, Shaq, Tim Duncan. And if you said right now, name the top five big men, I played with three of them… Dream No. 1 by far. We don’t like to, nobody want to talk about it. I think you have these guys who are quiet. Think about it. Dream, he’s a really quiet guy, you can’t get him to do much, to say much. So we kind of veer away from him. We don’t talk about him, but to me, if you look at what he put together. Defensive player of the year, MVP in one season. All-time leading shot blocker. Those things that you look at his history and what he’s done for the game and where he, how he started the game. This dude didn’t play basketball growing up. Went to (University of Houston) where they wasn’t, think about it, we all went to college where they going to teach you. U of H they just roll the ball out there and he went to work. So I think with his body of work was just incredible. And he’s just a good dude, too, man. That’s what you have to think about. A good dude.”

An argument could be made that Olajuwon was O’Neal’s equal when the former was at his peak in the mid-1990s. However, Olajuwon’s prime lasted just a few years, while O’Neal was in his prime for up to a full decade.

In the end, it is somewhat hard to compare the two. While O’Neal was the ultimate power player and likely one of the three greatest physical specimens in basketball history, Olajuwon was arguably the most skilled center ever, and his post moves, ball fakes and footwork were something to behold.

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce responds to Shaquille O’Neal’s basketball game challenge

#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce evokes “Hack A Shaq” in response to Shaquille O’Neal’s basketball challenge. | from @EdEastonJr

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Kansas City Chiefs all-pro tight end Travis Kelce has been busy all off-season with plenty of non-football-related activities. The Super Bowl champion will be with his MVP teammate Patrick Mahomes on the golf course when they participate in “The Match” charity golf challenge, against NBA’s Golden State Warriors all-star duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, for a 6:30 p.m. start on June 29 on TNT.

Last week Mahomes was a guest on TNT before the network’s NBA playoff coverage. Speaking with Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson, the Chiefs quarterback was challenged along with Kelce by O’Neal to a two on two basketball game. Kelce responded to the challenge while recently appearing as a guest on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back” show.

“You know what it is? Maybe we would go in San Antonio (Spurs) (Greg) Popovich style ‘Hack A Shaq’ baby we gonna make Shaq earn these things dog,” said Kelce. “Honestly, He might throw me in the rim if I started hanging on him a little bit so I need to chill out. I don’t want to poke that beast, man. I don’t want to poke that guy.”

The Chiefs perennial Pro Bowler laughed with the hosts about the idea of putting the basketball Hall of Famer on the free throw line, simply admitting, “It’s the only chance we got.” Kelce and Mahomes are thriving on the football field and in golf, but the prospect of them winning on the basketball court is a must-see event.

Which Boston Celtics have played in the most Game 7s in the postseason?

The storied ball club has a number of their former players on any list of NBA greats who have played in the most Game 7s.

When talking about playing in Game 7s in the history of the  NBA playoffs, fans of the Boston Celtics will not be too surprised to learn the storied club has a number of their former players on any list of NBA greats who have played in the most Game 7s over the course of their careers.

But when you take into account the dominance of the Celtics from the 1950s to the precipice of the 1970s with long stretches of contention in the mid-seventies, the eighties and late aughts, it makes sense that such lists are littered with former Boston players.

Let’s take a look at the record books to find out.

Shaquille O’Neal claims Nikola Jokic best center over Joel Embiid

Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal calls Nikola Jokic the best center in the game rather than Joel Embiid.

The debate over who the best center in the league is took another step forward in these 2023 playoffs. Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid took home the MVP award for the first time after finishing as the runner-up to Nikola Jokic in both 2021 and 2022.

In the 2023 playoffs, fresh off his MVP coronation, Embiid’s Sixers were ousted in seven games by the Boston Celtics. Embiid shot 5-for-18 in Game 7 as the Sixers were unable to overcome the Celtics on the road.

Meanwhile, Jokic has led the Denver Nuggets to the first finals appearance in franchise’s history after they swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The playoff performance by Jokic has taken the debate to another level as a Hall of Famer has more to say.

Legendary NBA big man Shaquille O’Neal is now taking Jokic as the best center in the league on “The Big Podcast with Shaq”:

Joker is the best center. … He’s changed the game of basketball, but he is playing like, I think a new wave center should play. Five years ago all the centers were just shooting jumpers. … Joker is the best big man and he’d proven that. He’s still here. … listen, there was a lot of people that were MVP over me, ain’t no way they’re better than me. Some people got three MVPs and I got one and Kobe got one so would you say those players are better than me and Kobe? I doubt it. Matter of fact, I know they ain’t. Embiid is the MVP, but in those playoffs, all the highlights we showed was him shooting jumpers. That’s the definition I think of what a new age center should do. I see him and it’s not 3s, 3s, 3s, pick-and-pop, pick-and-pop. Joker? You see it all.

In the playoffs, Embiid averaged 23.7 points and 9.8 rebounds while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 17.9% from deep. Those numbers were a serious drop from his regular-season numbers, but he also was dealing with an LCL sprain in his right knee. He came back from that injury in two weeks rather than waiting for the full month it takes to recover from such an injury.

Jokic is averaging 29.9 points, 10.3 assists, and 13.3 rebounds while shooting 53.8% from the floor and 47.4% from deep during this postseason run. Embiid is obviously the MVP, but it is hard to argue against the notion the Jokic is the best center in the game considering his dominant playoff run and his path to the finals.

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