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By the end of his career, Shaquille O’Neal ended up as one of the most devastating and dominant players in NBA history.
On “Pivot Podcast,” O’Neal talked a lot about his life and everything that happened to him on and off the court.
He narrated a story about going to Los Angeles when he was 18 and going to a club and seeing the stars around him. At the 17:50 minute mark of the podcast, he said:
“When I first got to LA, I figured out how superstar was supposed to live like when I first got to LA, they had a club called Roxy, so when I get to LA, I'm 18. I'm Shaq, but Shaq don't hold no weight in LA. So I'm standing in the front, Eddie Murphy coming all motherfucking leather shit. He had the motherfucking gloves and the Ferrari, he pulled up and paparazzi taking pictures and then Rob Lowe and the Magic, and I'm saying like damn that's gonna be me one day.”
Having the fame and the lifestyle that came along with it was a big motivation for O’Neal, who used that to go on and win four NBA titles spanning his 19-year-long career.
He would then use the fame he earned on the court for opportunities off the court. He would star in movies, make music, have numerous endorsements, and be one of the faces of some of the most decorated sports shows in America on TNT.
O’Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving the Orlando Magic after only four seasons with the team that drafted him. The drive for fame that he saw as a teenager in LA could have been a reason why he joined the Lakers about six years later.
Shaquille O’Neal’s time on the Lakers
Even though the Magic would draft Shaquille O’Neal, it would be short-lived. His stardom would begin with the Magic, going to every All-Star game in his four seasons, winning a scoring title, and going to the NBA Finals in his third season.
Despite the success in Orlando, joining the Lakers would prove to be a no-brainer, as he would win three NBA Finals in a row. He played alongside another Hall-of-Famer in Kobe Bryant. The pair reached four NBA Finals in five seasons and have gone down as one of the best teams in NBA history.
Shaquille O’Neal’s time on the Lakers would be what solidified him as a household name and one of the best NBA players ever.
