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On 'The Big Podcast with Shaq', NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal revealed that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's neglect of him fueled his 61-point performance.
Former NFL star Cam Newton, who starred in the podcast, asked Shaq about his perfect game, to which he spoke about his birthday game on March 6, 2000, playing for the LA Lakers against the LA Clippers.
He mentioned that he was unaware that NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was then an assistant coach for the Clippers. He elaborated that Jabbar neglected him, which fueled him along with other things to put up his 'most perfect game.'
"My most perfect game was the birthday game where I hit 61 points, but it wasn't supposed to be perfect, cause I don't know if you have a ritual, but I always had a ritual," Shaq said.
Talking about his ritual, Shaq said that since it was his birthday, he didn't go through his usual ritual and went partying the night before instead. He was tired because of that as he entered the arena.
The LA Clippers were dominating early in the game. With his family watching him play on his birthday and his team depending on him, Shaquille O'Neal was ignited to get back at the Clippers when Jabbar continued to neglect him.
"I didn't realize Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was assistant coach. I look back I'm like 'oh that's Kareem' but he got head down. I was like 'you ain't gonna look at me Kareem' so I shoot a little sky hook and go and crowd go crazy," Shaq said.
"Kareem was telling him (Michael Olowokandi) how to stop me. I told them hey don't nobody f**king shoot and give me the f**king ball."
Watch the segment here: (Skip to 43:50.)
Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to a 123-103 win. He registered his career-high 61 points, along with 23 rebounds and three assists.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explains why he didn't support Shaquille O'Neal at first
During an interview with Clutch Points over All-Star Weekend 2023, Abdul-Jabbar explained the origins of the Shaq beef rumors. Kareem didn't initially support Shaq because he wanted the big man to become the best version of himself first.
“I made up for a lot of time with Shaquille yesterday," Kareem said. "He interviewed me, you know, we just got a lot of things straight. He used to think I hated him and that was never the case. I was waiting for him to reach his potential before I could support him.
"I didn’t want to support when he was just a (young guy). He and Kobe got together and changed everybody’s idea of what he was possible of doing."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal have cleared the air and both now hold high regard for each other.
