01x04 - From Shaq to Shaquille

[bunniefuu]

[TV static drones]

[bright tone]

[clicking]

[upbeat music]

- In 1991, marketing class,

the marketing professor said,

"Okay, class,

I want you to present items

that you could see

being sold in the future."

Something like that.

So I'm looking at Jordan.

He has the Jumpman.

I'm like,

"That's really how he dunks."

[dramatic orchestral music]

This is how I dunk.

So I came up

with this emblem right here.

Dunkman.

So I went to a registry place

in Baton Rouge.

Registered. Boom, boom, boom.

All that.

[bell dings]

So you know me,

I'm comin' in with the shirt

with the Shaq emblem on it.

I'm comin' in with the shoes.

I'm comin' in

with the cereal boxes.

Professor's, "Oh, very

well-thought-out, Mr. O'Neal.

Unfortunately,

big guys don't sell."

And he was telling the truth.

Only guys who had

a commercial at the time

was Magic and Bird.

- In person.

- f*ck that. f*ck that.

The whole world

'bout to know my name.

♪

- Shaquille.

- Shaq.

- Shaq.

- Shaq.

- Shaq.

- Shaquille O'Neal.

- Watch out

for the Shaq attack.

- Big Diesel is going

to South Beach.

Lakers are trading

Shaquille O'Neal

to the Miami Heat.

- When the Lakers threw me

in the trash

and people started

to doubt me

"Okay.

Y'all want to get rid of me?"

- Shaquille O'Neal!

- Marketing time.

[upbeat music]

People that know me,

they know what time it is

and they know what the Diesel

is comin' to do.

I'ma bring a championship

to Miami, I promise.

Get your tickets now.

Buy cable now.

Get your jerseys now.

Pull your boats up

to the docking stations now.

- Yeah.

- Can't afford a Sea-Doo,

get a raft.

[laughter]

You can't afford a raft,

go to Walmart

and get the blow-up raft

like I got at my house.

- He could've walked away

from basketball after LA

and still been fine.

The brand of Shaq

was still strong.

But he still had

that chip on his shoulder.

That, "Let me get in shape

one more time."

And what better person

than Pat Riley?

- Go! Go!

- Hold up.

- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

- Hold up now.

- The number one premise

in my coaching philosophy

was to try and convince

the most talented players

to get in world-class shape.

When I was a player,

Bill Sharman, he said,

"You must be

the best-conditioned player

"in camp.

"And what I need

is to have you guard

"Jerry West and Gail Goodrich

"and Elgin Baylor

to help keep them

in better shape."

And I did go against Jerry West

every day.

And he would look at me like,

"Are they paying you

to beat me up?"

I said, "Yeah. They are."

♪

- My mentality is

I don't need to get ready

for you bums.

First championship, 345.

I'm feelin' good.

I ain't workin' out.

Second championship, 365.

I'm still the best.

I feel good. I'm workin' out.

Third championship.

Toe surgery.

I was a little heavy.

But I still was bustin'

your a*s.

- When he came here,

he was, like, 373 pounds.

And he didn't look

like he was out of shape.

He's a big guy.

- Get in shape.

Getall summer.

'Cause I have something

to prove.

Like,

"Oh, after all I gave y'all,

"y'all still think

I can't do it?

Okay. I'm comin' for you."

all: Aww.

- Wade. The set. Magnificent.

- When the trade happened,

I was in LA

going to the ESPY awards.

And when I hit the carpet,

"Shaquille O'Neal new teammate,

Dwyane Wade."

I got cheers in LA,

and I'm like, "This is crazy."

Shaq is at a different level.

He's already on

The 50 Most Baddest

m*therf*cker List.

[chuckles]

[dramatic music]

♪

- The big fella

is in the house,

about to make his debut

back in the Eastern

Conference.

- Inside, Shaq

he's just too strong.

Bodies are flying

right and left.

- He's showing

why he's the most dominant

big fella in the game today.

- Shaq still had a lot left.

And it also coincided

with the absolute

incredible improvement

of Dwyane Wade

in his second year.

They were an incredible duo

together.

- And the drivein the air.

Shaq slammed it through.

- It was

just the genuine respect

and you gotta have that

with your best players.

There can't be jealousy.

There was none of that here.

- Shaquille O'Neal

with Dwyane Wade

that's probably

the most hyped duo

since Crockett and Tubbs.

- So first thing I did

with D Wade

is I sat him down and said,

"This your team."

- Shaq wanted to talk to me

about the previous

relationships

things that happened

with Penny,

things that happened

with Kobe

and right away

just let me know

- "You be the man.

I'ma be the consultant."

- "Like, I'm here to help you

reach a level of greatness

that I see in you."

- You need to go

where people know your name ♪

[vocalizing]

I don't know

the rest of the words ♪

But I live

where everybody knows my name ♪

[vocalizing]

What's up, baby?

- We wish you a Merry ♪

- I remember being

in the locker room

my first season

In the Staples Center

playing against the Lakers,

and Shaq went the f*ck off.

- Goes right into the lane,

and has it taken away.

- And he said,

"I did not come here"

[chuckles]

"For us to get beat

by some m*therf*ckers."

[laughs] Like, he went off.

That's how much it meant.

- Catching up to him,

they get lucky

as Jones seems

[whistle blasts]

[speaking indistinctly]

Shaquille O'Neal with a foul.

And the place erupts

as Shaquille O'Neal

has fouled out.

Now to Odom. Three-point led.

Hey.

Two-point game.

And three seconds remain

in overtime.

[buzzer blares]

- Shaquille O'Neal

and the Miami Heat

have won 11 straight games.

- Shaq is more of one of those

"follow my lead" leaders.

[all chanting indistinctly]

The way he led us,

the way he showed us

how to win,

Shaq seemed to do it

gracefully.

Miami as a basketball town.

Before Shaq got there,

it was not a thing.

It was football.

The Dolphins. The Hurricanes.

It was never known

as basketball.

- Like I said, man,

before I came to this town,

man, this town was nothing,

man,

but now that I'm here,

all right.

- Big fella came

and changed it.

- Out to O'Neal.

- Ooh, it clears.

- He almost ripped

the rim down.

It is swagger time.

- Back in the day ♪

- Going to the Lakers,

towards the end of the season,

if we already clinched,

Phil would say,

"Hey, man, we clinched.

Take this time off.

"No parties.

"Come in and work out

twice a day.

"Cardio.

"And then the day

before the game,

"I need you to give me

one good practice

and then we go."

We got two games left.

- Don't hold up, dude.

- So I go to Stan and be like,

"Listen, man, we clinched."

That's what I used to do

back then.

I would rest.

"No."

So the last game

against the Indiana Pacers,

I'm playin',

but I'm not playin' hard

'cause I don't want

to get hurt.

I go try to take a charge.

Jermaine O'Neal.

Knee to the thigh. Bop.

Rips it in half.

- Shaq is going

to the locker room

and gimping a little bit.

- I'm out. But I can't be out.

What do I do? sh**t it up.

- Bop ♪

[engine turns over]

Bop ♪

- One, two, three, Heat.

- Now, here is Shaq

[crowd cheering]

- Bop ♪

- Now, we were up

the whole game.

And I had the ball,

but I can't make the Shaq move

'cause thisaah.

- Wade saw the opening,

finding O'Neal

He is fouled.

- And we lose.

- Bop ♪

Bop ♪

- And now I'd like

to introduce

the new head coach, Pat Riley.

- I have a responsibility

to this team

and to the players

that I traded for,

picked, signed.

And I think right now,

at this moment,

that I'm the best person

to do that.

- Pat Riley

was the only smart one

to talk business with me.

He said, "Shaq, I love you.

"I can give you $125,000,000

for four.

"You don't have no players.

Or I can give you

$100,000,000 for five."

And I'm like, my guys

D Wade, Alonzo, Udonis

James Posey, Antoine Walker,

Gary and Jason

and I'm like, "I gotta win

before young fella wins.

Let's do it."

- I loved watching Shaq lead

that team.

♪

- Shot, baby.

- Thanks. [chuckles]

- For that year,

Dwyane Wade was becoming

the greatest player

in the world.

He was having

that kind of a season.

And he and Shaquille

were a perfect match,

Shaquille being

the post-up player.

And we could go to him

and play low and strong

or we can isolate Dwyane.

Everything

that I ran offensively

when we needed a basket

always involved

Shaquille and Dwyane.

They both made

each other better.

- And for the first time

in this franchise's history,

the Miami heat are off

to the NBA championship!

- Get your Game One 2006

program.

- Here we go.

- Watch the Mavericks

beat the Heat.

- And O'Neal,

who is 0 for 7 from the line,

will sh**t two.

- Shaquille O'Neal. Two shots.

[tense music]

♪

- He is just

can't find the mark

at all tonight.

- In the finals, I seen

some moments of Shaq realize

he wasn't that dominant

big fella no more.

- Free throws was off.

Everything was just off

that series.

[cheers and applause]

- Again,

he's not even been close.

He's really struggling

right now.

He admitted he's thinking

too much at the line,

but said, "I will start

to hit my free throws."

Oh.

- Terry right back

with the steal and puts it in.

- We haven't had a field goal

in over six minutes.

In the zone

as Wade gets inside.

Hop step. 2.2

- I'm not really having

the Shaq-type finals.

I'm gettin' old

and you can see it.

I'm notnot doing nothing

MVP-like.

But now, if we lose,

it's my fault.

- Stackhouse to three.

Knocks it down. Shots.

- Nowitzki. Very patient.

And the lead is up to 18.

- You helped Shaq take

only five shots.

What did you all do to keep

him away from the ball?

- You know, nobody can stop

Shaq in one-on-one.

We all know that.

I think it's a collective

team effort.

And I thought we did

a decent job today.

- Well, the Dallas Mavericks

with a convincing victory

once again

here at the American Airlines

Center.

Shaquille O'Neal,

the lowest-scoring

playoff game of his career.

- We lose the first two games.

So now I have a team meeting.

They're all lookin' for me.

I ain't got it.

"And I gotta check

you m*therf*ckers."

The f*ck you gonna do, D Wade?

- What you gonna do, D Wade?

- m*therf*cker.

- Like, why you comin' at me?

- D Wade, m*therf*cker,

you want to be

like Kobe and Lebron?

This your f*ck' chance.

- But he knew that for us

to win a championship,

I had to get pushed forward.

At the same time,

you don't know

if you're really ready,

neither.

If you really ready to be

"the guy."

- In the weather today,

noisy, rumbling thunder storms

rolling across Miami.

[dramatic music]

- He created a character.

- Yeah. He right here.

Flash right here.

- He created another person

[chuckles]

For me that people call me.

What up?

[buzzer drones]

- Is this game starting

to slip away

from the Miami Heat?

Down by nine, they can't

afford to go down 3-0.

Wade banks it in.

- Ah-ah ♪

- Wade pulls up. Puts it in.

- Coming from Shaq,

that he sees greatness in me,

you want to talk

about confidence

- Flash ♪

- Wade has been brilliant

here in the fourth quarter.

- They was gonna go to

Hack-a-Shaq at certain points

and we had to figure out

how to utilize

Shaq's greatness.

And we had to play

against the rules.

- Williams for three.

Off the mark.

O'Neal, the rebound.

Goes back up.

Misses the jam but is fouled.

And now

Shaquille O'Neal will go

to the free throw line.

- All right, big fella,

I see you in the gym

all the time.

He down there shootin'

them broke-a*s free throws,

but he down there

shootin' them.

I know what you do.

You know what I'm saying?

Put that ball

on your fingertips

and flick that wrist, dog.

Let's go.

[dramatic note]

[cheers and applause]

- And his first toss gets

right through.

Come on.

[Queen's "Flash Gordon"]

Now he's gonna pursue

the high percentage shot.

Wade. It's good!

One-point game.

41 for Dwyane Wade.

Oh. Haslem with the steal.

Here goes Haslem inside.

Stripped by Terry and a foul.

Tie game. Miami leads.

- And there's

one second remaining.

- They could go for the win.

There it was.

- Gets the ball.

Knocked away!

And the Heat survive! And

- By?

- Dwyane Wade.

- There you go.

- A stirring

fourth quarter comeback.

And the Miami Heat right back

in the NBA finals.

- Flash, aah ♪

♪

- Gordon's alive ♪

Flash, aah ♪

- Just get it in.

- He's a miracle ♪

- Puts it up for the win.

Oh, no good.

And Miami wins again

to take a 3-2 lead.

- Flash ♪

- Pat Riley said,

"You m*therf*ckers

"better bring one suit.

"If you ain't got one suit,

"that show me you don't believe

and you will not be

f*ck' playin'."

So I'm like, "Damn."

So when we get to the airport,

he checkin'

m*therf*ckers' bags.

- Over 20,000 jammed into

the American Airlines Center,

ready for game six.

Williams loves to run

on the open floor.

Wade's jumper.

O'Neal!

- Oh, boy.

- Nowitzki to the basket,

left-handed.

Gets the roll.

Walker flips it up and in.

Antoine Walker

with a big play.

O'Neal back in.

A three. It's good!

Stackhouse makes it

a one-point game.

- Wade. It's up.

- No.

- It is no good.

But Haslem got a rebound.

And he travels.

It's Dallas' ball.

Wade missed both free throws

and Dallas could tie it

with a three-pointer.

Jason Terry

into the front court.

Right wing against Peyton.

- Foul.

- Terry puts it up. Won't go.

Rebound, Wade.

The Miami Heat,

they've done it.

They win

their first championship

in franchise history.

- And the Heat have won

the NBA championship,

four games to two.

- It is the first title

for the Miami Heat

in 18 years of existence.

[cheers and applause]

- Congratulations, Miami Heat,

2006 NBA champions.

- You know,

David Stern was up there

and he's talking,

and everyone started

telling me like,

"Yo, go up to the front.

Go to the front."

And I'm like, "For what?"

They like,

"To get the trophy."

I'm like, "Oh, snap.

I did just ball out, right?"

- Congratulations

2006 MVP Dwyane Wade.

- He brings the award

and then Shaq takes it.

You knowI mean, like,

I've never seen nobody do that

from the commissioner.

And it was only right

that he passed it down to me.

[cheers and applause]

Also too, like, "I told you."

[chuckles]

"I told you

I was gonna make you a star."

♪

That team was built

for a one-year run.

One year.

First game of the season

when we played the Bulls

on ring night,

I knew we were in trouble.

[chuckles]

- Championship ring night

for the Miami Heat

and they have struggled.

It has been

a flat performance.

- Then the vets came in,

little bit of weight

[chuckles]

Still smelling like

the summer.

There was no way in hell

we were winning that year.

You don't get beat

by damn near 40 on ring night.

You don't do it.

- Worst opening night loss

by a defending champion

- Miami.

- Well, the knock

on Miami this year

is that maybe age

will catch up to them.

And they certainly look old

here tonight, Marv.

- 2007, I come back

and it's a different team.

- Many months later

- D Wade is hurt. I'm hurt.

We're having a terrible year.

So now that we won

with his philosophy,

now Pat Riley, he's back.

- I coached hard, worked hard.

I used to tell people

that I don't have stress.

I just am an intense guy.

I was stressed out.

Tremendous amount

of anxiety and pressure

that I put on myself

to try to win.

- Pat's on edge. I'm on edge.

Everybody's on edge.

So we're at practice

- J Will come up last.

- I wasn't a rule guy.

But the most important thing

for me was being on time.

That's it.

- And so Pat, on his a*s,

would have been

the last one upstairs.

Whatever, whatever.

- That was it.

- So Shaq being the vet,

and he's gonna protect

his guys

"No, J Will. I got it."

And so him and Pat

get into it.

- Round one. Fight.

- If I wanted to send

a message to any player,

I would always bring it up

in front of the team.

So this is the way

you get the real truth out.

And then if there's

other people

who disagree with me, come out.

- "Yeah. You're the Senate,

but I'm the president.

Don't challenge me,

Mr. Senator Man."

"Oh, you want to be a big man?

You get out."

- And he said something,

you know, graphic

- m*therf*cker, put me out.

- Which I didn't like.

So here we go.

- Some people don't like

to be challenged.

- You know, I didn't want it.

- Me included.

- But if you want it,

okay, let's go.

- Shaq got closer

and closer and closer to Pat,

to the point

where his long-a*s finger

was right here.

- And it

was one of these things.

And he's doing this in my face,

and I'm yelling so hard

that spittle's coming

out of my mouth

and spittle's coming

out of his mouth

- And they both talkin' sh*t.

And neither one of them

is backing down.

But at this moment, I'm like,

"Pat,

you're about to get k*lled."

'Cause I ain't ever seen him

get 7'2".

[chuckles]

You know what I'm saying? 350.

- The funniest part

of the whole thing

and it wasn't funny

but it was Alonzo got up

and got between

the both of us.

And he put his arms in there

and he said,

"Shaq, don't do it."

[chuckles]

I don't know

"Don't do it."

- We eventually got him

to calm down.

And that was it.

That was pretty much it

of, uhof that run.

That kind of ended it.

[game trills]

- On our way home

from that practice,

there was a U-Haul place

around the corner

from, uh, where Shaq lived

on Star Island.

And when we passed

that U-Haul place,

I told Shaq, "Shaq"

"I ain't sure

but I got this feeling

"the next time

you come past U-Haul

you need

to get you some boxes."

- So I went to go get a MRI

'cause, remember,

I was hurtin'.

Even the doctors were on it.

They did me so smooth.

So I'm in the MRI.

And in the MRI machine,

you gotta be still.

I'm asleep so I know I'm still.

So when I get out,

I see the doctor on the phone.

And then he says,

"Oh, you gotta go back under

'cause it wasn't done yet."

So now I gotta go back in

another hour and a half.

And I'm sittin'

[mimicking MRI rumbling]

Listening to this thing.

And then when I come out,

my phone blowin' up.

My wife.

"Baby, you just been traded."

I'm like, "What?"

- They seek answers ♪

- We were going

to play somewhere,

about to head on the road.

And I'm sitting on the plane,

I got a call.

From Shaq.

He was like,

"I just been traded."

I'm like, "What?" [chuckles]

And that was it.

He ended up getting traded

because he stepped up

as a leader

[chuckles]

And did what he felt

that he needed to do.

Defending his teammate saying,

"Enough is enough."

- Now, after he found out

he'd gotten traded,

he wanted to go back

to the facility,

but they wouldn't

they wouldn't let him in.

[laughs]

They knew his intentions

wasn't well.

They didn't let him in.

- And I was gonna go down there

and put hands on that man.

I really was.

2007, things start to change.

- Bye, Daddy.

- Bye, Daddy Bighead.

- Bye, Shaqir.

- Bye, Daddy Bighead. Boo-boo.

- Bighead boo-boo?

- Yeah.

- Me?

That's you

that's Bighead boo-boo.

Going through a divorce.

Things not going well.

It's actually two women

who forgive me

for being a dumb, idiotic brat.

Arnetta was one that

I've always had a crush on

in high school

but never talked to her.

Finally, when I'm about

to get drafted,

now I'm confident.

I got some money.

I got the chains.

I get to talk to her.

We start dating.

We love each other.

She gives me my first

bundle of joy, Taahirah.

Now, through all of this,

I'm still doing dumb stuff.

Then I meet the other

greatest person in my life,

Shaunie.

I knew

she was gonna be my wife.

And I knew she was gonna have

all of my other children.

But just being a dumbass,

rich, spoiled man,

of course, I messed it up.

I wasn't programmed

to have a relationship.

And then when you move to LA?

Times ten.

Then when you go LA

back to Miami, times 20.

Everything that

that was done,

everything that was bad

that happened,

it was all because of me.

- When you're on the road

and you're not really

connected

with what's going on

in the household,

it's hard.

I would speak to him

on the phone

maybe once a week

and see him in person

once a month if I was lucky.

I didn't really get

to hang out with him a lot.

I-I felt like I didn't know him

for a long time

as a father

who protects and provides.

But it was just an issue

with, you know, his presence.

I didn't feel like he was

the most present sometimes.

- We were in Miami,

and my mom said that they

were getting a divorce.

And hershe was crying

and Reef was crying.

- We all moved and left

with my mom.

There was times

where I didn't know

if I was supposed to talk

to him

'cause I didn't want

to make my mom mad

or I didn't want,

like, him to feel

like we were abandoning him.

- All the cryin'

and all the tears

I've never been shot

or stabbed,

but it felt like that.

Now, when you lose

the privilege

of having that joy,

now you have to deal with being

condemned with nothing.

You walk in the room

where the kids used to play,

there's nothing.

You go in a room and you look

at their closet,

all their clothes are gone.

Everything's gone.

Having them at that house

was the peace

that kept me sane.

And, luckily,

I was still playing,

I could have some solace,

but that's not a good feeling.

[clicking]

[upbeat music]

♪

- And now,

for the Western Conference,

a 15-time All-Star, center,

and one of the most dominant

players in the history

of the NBA,

the Big Cactus himself,

Shaquille O'Neal.

♪

- Left Miami, get to Phoenix.

I was Shaq

- To Shaq. Look out below.

- But I wasn't Shaq.

The knees and the hips.

I didn't even have

the adrenaline to play.

- Shaq against Kevin Garnett.

Spins on him. Goes baseline.

Reverse it up. No good.

- And then it wasn't my team.

It's Stephen Nash's team

and Amare Stoudemire's team.

- Can Shaq catch up?

Look out,

he's going into the crowd.

[chuckles]

- But when I'd look

at the stat sheet

and see nine and ten points,

I felt like

I was robbing people.

[clicking]

- Yeah,

it's really a sad moment

because you're gonna get

to a point in your career

where you're gonna get too old

and the game is gonna change.

And it's gonna get too fast

and you can't keep up.

- In your mind, you still feel

like you can do it.

But you can't put tread

back on the tires.

- Like, when you missin'

layups

or you doin' certain things

that you could do

in your sleep,

it's weird.

It's a weird feeling.

Because it's not nothing

that you've ever experienced

before.

Then at one point,

Father Time be like, "Okay."

Tap you on that shoulder.

He comin'.

- When your time is up,

your time is up.

Boston already had

their big three.

I was just gonna be another guy

comin' up the bench.

And I knew I was gonna have

a career-ending injury.

I knew it.

- Shaquille O'Neal hobbles

towards the locker room.

- The day I busted

my Achilles, I shot it up.

I confess.

And it felt really good.

You know, I was five for five

that game.

You go back and look,

I'm up and under

and then falling,

and then boom, it just popped.

- Here is Shaquille O'Neal

leaving the building

just a short time ago

- As soon as I had

the career-ending injury,

it was a little bit of relief.

My body couldn't do it anymore.

My mind was startin' to say,

"You can't the Shaq

that you used to be,

so might as well

do something else."

So when I got hurt,

I was like, "Thank you."

- This is aa bittersweet day

for our family.

It's been 19 years.

And the 19 years

have gone by so quick,

but when you talk

to your children,

tell them about having

a plan B and C and also D,

so that life goes on

and there is life

after basketball.

[cheers and applause]

- Never thought

this day would come.

And, uh, Father Time

has finally caught up

with Shaquille O'Neal.

I would like to thank

my mother and father

for their support and guidance.

I would like

to especially thank my father

because without him

I wouldn't be here today.

It was him who met a young lady

who had a boy.

He took us in.

He taught me the game.

He taught me

how to play the game.

He taught me

how to dominate the game.

So I just want to say

from a son to a father,

thank you very much.

I love you too.

At the press conference

at the house,

announced my retirement.

And I will miss you.

But I do plan on

entertaining you

for the next 19 years

whether it's TNT, ESPN, CNN

whoever wants to hire me,

uh, my offices open up

on Monday.

Give me a call.

[laughter]

[upbeat music]

Lady comes in.

"We work for Turner.

We want you to work for TNT."

So I said, "Well, here's

my agent over here."

- We have a meeting with

the powers that be at Turner.

And then a sit with

the powers that be at ESPN.

David Levy and Steve Koonin

walk in from Turner.

- Incredibly exciting.

- As the number one show

in basketball,

we win a lot of Emmys.

- They said, "We don't need you

but we want you."

- John Skipper

from ESPN walks in.

- We like competition.

It's fun.

- "You know, look,

we're ABC. We're Disney.

"I can put the show

in Orlando.

"I know that you have

a house there.

"I could put it in LA.

"I know that you have

a house there.

"So we'll build

a show around you.

I'm number one in every show

except basketball."

- "We need you. We need you."

- Oh, my gosh, this is gonna be

a great day.

And I look down the table

at Shaquille

- Aristotle?

- The Black

Friedrich Nietzsche over here.

- Said, "All right.

Give me your thoughts."

- My worst day at Turner

would be a good day.

My worst day at ESPN

would cause me to get fired.

Oh.

- We'll go with Turner.

They're relationship people.

It's only gonna get better.

That's special to be able

to see that in that room

to not be focused

on the dollars

but to be focused

on the long-term relationship

- "We've been there 11 years.

We've got nine Emmys."

If we're

like all these other people

who do sports shows,

that's criticism.

Iwe not criticizin'.

We tellin' you,

"You could be great.

You ain't playin'

hard enough."

I'm not sayin'

it's 'cause of me,

but we have fun.

- You want to get slapped

on national television?

- [laughs]

- Let me get it.

- You mean, like this?

[both chuckle]

I've always had

stuff to fall back on.

And I've always done it

my way.

- Funny guy.

- Are you not entertained?

- Loves life.

- Got him.

- Big heart.

I didn't know

that in my lifetime

he'd be on every commercial

I've ever seen.

- Look at me.

Reebok, Google, Icy Hot,

24 Hour Fitness, Pepsi,

Dunkman, Epson printers,

ring doorbells.

- The General.

- Tonka, JCPenney, PointsBet,

Novex, alkaline water.

- Papa John's pizza,

Krispy Kreme donuts,

Gold Bond.

- The list goes

on and on and on and on.

- Image.

Image.

Dr. Lucille O'Neal said,

"Image is reality."

I'm not gonna sell you

something

that I don't truly believe in.

I do investments,

endorsements,

and partnerships.

And, like, if I really,

really believe in a company,

I'll say,

"Okay, I'll do an endorsement,

"but you don't have to pay me.

I want to be a partner

in your company."

- O'Neal says

that he's a lifelong fan

of Krispy Kream,

and besides being an owner,

he'll also serve

as the company's

global spokesperson.

- The value proposition of

everything we do is critical.

That's what we're looking at

with all of our partners.

Is this affordable?

Is it approachable?

And if it's not,

it's not something

that would be true for him.

When you're talking

about a brand

the size of Shaquille,

the most important thing

is to make sure

that we're being authentic

to who Shaquille is.

You have to let Shaquille

be Shaquille

and the magic will come.

- This is stuff

that I really use.

Man, my back hurt. Icy Hot.

I'm thirsty. Alkaline88.

It's breakfast time.

Frosted Flakes.

Man, I'm about to go work out.

Reebok.

My thing

when I'm talking to directors,

I always tell them,

"Just sh**t the money,

brother."

I'm a funny m*therf*cker.

I like making people laugh.

That's what I do.

So me looking at you,

saying something,

doing something

real quick on point,

making you laugh,

making you feel good,

I am the master of that.

- At the end of the day,

we're in the fun business.

That's who Shaquille is.

He's in the fun business.

- He could choose daily

to be a different person.

But he doesn't.

He chooses to just be fun.

And he is magic

'cause he wants to perform.

- When Shaquille stopped

playing basketball,

I thought, you know,

I'd have a vacation.

I was sadly mistaken.

We are busier

than we've ever been.

- He was the first athlete

that I worked with

that actually had

their own brand

as opposed to being

an endorser.

He had already sold

hundreds of millions

of pairs of shoes,

so he was revolutionary.

And when we partnered

with Authentic Brands,

we entered into an amazing

addition to his business.

- You can't open your eye,

turn on the TV,

turn on social media

and not see him.

- He was the first

verified athlete on Twitter.

- I was doing social media

before social media

was invented.

Athletes that are, you know,

turning into investors

- Right.

-I've never looked

at myself like that.

I've always been

a business man

who was athletic.

- Shaq showed them

that that was possible.

Magic showed Shaq

that that was possible.

- There was too many stories

of guys coming into the NBA

being millionaires

and then going out broke.

It was important

for me to share

my knowledge and experience

with the younger guys.

Especially a guy like Shaq

who would listen

and then apply.

- I learned

from the great Magic Johnson

you want to start investing

in businesses.

- He got it.

- I invested in Vitamin Water.

- He listened.

- I'm on the board

of Papa John's.

- He applied it.

- I met

with the CEO of Walmart.

I said, "Look, I want to be

the number one shoe seller

of Walmart."

- And now that's why he's

probably even more successful

in business than he was

on the basketball court.

- He was the face

of the league.

For an era, the league was fun

'cause he set the tone.

- His main message to me was,

"Whatever you're gonna do

"in the future

with your brands,

"make sure it's your voice.

Make sure it's you.

"If it's you,

if it's your voice,

then people will receive it."

- You don't look

at today's athlete and go,

"Well, why does LeBron have

a production company,"

or "Why is Steph Curry

making products?"

That's expected

because Shaq knocked down doors

to present an example

of how to run a career

and to brand yourself

beyond the game.

[static whines]

- Spend some time

with Shaquille O'Neal

and you'll find

that he hasn't gotten

carried away with his lofty

early season numbers

about 23 points, 15 boards,

three blocks a game

though the rest

of the league has.

And I caught up with Shaq

on the road in LA yesterday

for a little one-on-one

with the guy who has given

NBA foes fits

in his first year.

Your dad has been

very influential.

He was the guy

who really wanted you

to stay at LSU

for another year.

What kind of influence

is he now that, uh

that you're in the bigs?

- Well, every time he sees me,

he smiles, gives me a hug,

and says, "I'm proud of you.

"Not because you made it

to the league,

but because when you were

younger, you listened."

- Welcoming Shaquille O'Neal

to the Hall of Fame

are Julius Erving,

Alonzo Mourning, Bill Russell,

and Isaiah Thomas.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Shaquille O'Neal.

- I think if I wouldn't

have listened to him,

I wouldn't be here right now.

So I'd like to start

by saying thank you

to those

who first believed in me.

- Did, uh, Shaquille give you

any trouble growing up?

- Yes, he did.

- How'd you handle it?

- Talked to him.

- My father,

Sergeant Phillip Harrison,

was a disciplinarian.

He was firm but fair.

He was my first exposure

on how an effective leader

operated.

And when I didn't listen,

I was introduced

to his alter ego,

affectionately known

as The Belt.

I didn't want to do

the Hall of Fame speech

without my main man there.

But I know if I would have

cried when he was there,

he would have given me

that face like,

"Straighten your face,

soldier."

My father couldn't be here

with us tonight,

but I left a seat empty

for him.

And, uh,

I know he'she's watching.

- When he started to get sick,

he wouldn't tell us nothing.

We didn't know.

He went through

prostate cancer,

we didn't even know.

We didn't know

until he finished everything,

remission and all that.

So August 2013, we were having

a little birthday party.

He couldn't breathe.

So we had to call 911.

And he went to the hospital

and hehe never came home

after that.

It was just crushing

to the whole family.

I could tell Shaquille

I never seen him cry

like that before.

- Phil was stable.

He was strong.

And now that Phil is gone,

Shaquille has held onto

everything

that Phil has taught him.

Phil took him from being

that young boy

and helped him to be

the man that he is today.

- Overall, I've done my best

to be a good role model

to the youth

and to those

who would look up to me.

My message to the youth

has always been the same.

Never give up, work hard,

and continue to learn.

At the age of ten,

my father said,

"Son, if you listen to me"

Told me this day would happen.

And hopefully when

a father's quizzin' his son

on great big men of the game,

hopefully Shaquille O'Neal's

name will be in the answer.

Thank you very much

for attending

tonight's ceremony.

[applause]

[clears throat]

- All right? I love you, boy.

I love you.

- My father said something

very profound to me one day.

"If there has to be

discussion,

that mean you ain't as good

as you think you are."

Like, if you don't think

I'm the greatest big man ever,

don't say my name.

If you don't think I'm one

of the most dominant big men,

don't say my name.

And that's the mentality I had.

And that's what I had to have

because I'm trying to get

where Jerry West said

I can get.

And I want to be

the most dominant ever.

- What blesses us

and our family

is that Shaquille

is on that wall.

All I can say is,

"God, thank you."

And I say that

every time I think

about where he was

and where he is now.

I just say, "God, thank you."

- Sergeant Harrison

passes away.

And my mother says,

"I want you to get to know

your biological father."

I call him and I say,

"Hey, man, I need to see you."

And I take him

and I buy him a little car.

I said, "Look, man,

I don't come in town a lot.

"Mama said

I should come see you.

"First of all,

I ain't mad at you.

"I don'tI don't hate you.

Forget all that. We good.

"I'm grown. You grown.

"Let's just, you know,

develop a relationship

from here on out."

You know, when-when I was young

I was mad,

but then when you become a man

and-and do certain

dumb similar things,

who am I to judge you?

Because in real life

when you're dealing

with real people

She told me that.

[indistinct chatter]

- Yes, yes, it's fine. Okay.

Okay. So 1:00 it is.

I gotta ask. Okay.

- You know

I don't go to bed till 5:00,

so I'm not get

I can't get up early.

- Why is that?

Just can't do it?

- It's called

- How your body works?

- No man, ever since Kobe

and my sister died,

I can't sleep.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- Wow.

- I justI can't.

- When you lose somebody,

it's just a void there.

I don't care what anybody say.

Youyou missing something.

Because you know why?

Things happen where we have

no control over them.

And I remember

when my daughter passed away

how Shaquille said,

"I have all this money

but I can't buy her health."

You can't do anything.

You feel so helpless.

- Like, I knew she had cancer,

but nobody mentioned

she had terminal cancer.

I would never have imagined

my baby sister going

before me.

And she was perfect.

So when she passed away,

it just put me

in a sadly state of,

"I should have went

to see her."

I could have at least took her

to London or Paris.

I didn't get to do any of that,

and now she's gone.

And then I'm in this very gym.

My son comes in crying,

and he showed me the phone

when Kobe passed away.

And I was like,

"Bro, this is bullshit."

And then the calls

start comin' in.

- Pretty sad news

to tell the sports world.

"The LA Times" is reporting

that retired

Los Angeles Lakers

basketball star Kobe Bryant

has been k*lled

in a helicopter crash.

It happened this morning.

- It's hard to move on.

'Cause with Kobe, on the phone,

you see highlights every day.

So if I see a highlight

of Kobe,

I'm done for the day.

And I should have reached out

to him.

I should have called him.

I should have seen

how he was doing.

So those two things

will haunt me forever.

- I can see the hurt in him.

I tell him,

"Let your feelings out.

"Let it all out.

If you angry, let that out.

"If you happy, let that out.

If you sad, let that out.

Just let it go. Let it rip.

You want to cry, cry."

Sometimes you don't have to say

a whole lot, you just be.

He is being the man that he is.

- From 13 to 39,

this is all I know.

[cheers and applause]

And then when I had to retire,

I heard nothing but silence.

I needed something.

I'm not playin' around.

- I need to see your flags.

- Put your God damn hands up.

DJing is the drug

that replaces the adrenaline

I used to get

when I used to play.

Put 'em up!

I get it back, finally.

After all these years,

I finally get that

[electronic dance music]

If I get one hour of this

[mimics crowd noise]

That lasts me for a month.

♪

Because one thing

I know how to do

is control a crowd.

- Let's go now!

- Can you dig it?

It's the closest thing

to a championship parade.

Can you dig it?

You know, people always say,

"What do you want

your legacy to be?"

I want people to say,

"Shaquille O'Neal

was a nice guy."

I don't care

about the championships.

I don't care

about the business deals.

I don't care

about how much money he got.

Was he a nice guy

when you met him?

Did he take a picture

with your kid?

That's all I want

people to say.

That's all that matters to me.

So my mission in life now

is to just brighten up

people's day.

I was watching

the Deon Cole comedy special.

And he said, "Where are

all the 40-year-olds at?"

And the crowd goes crazy.

[mimics crowd noise]

Then he says,

"There's only 20 summers left."

And I'm like, "I'ma be 50.

So 20 summers for me

will be 70."

And it was a true statement.

So ever since I heard that,

I've been like, "Hey, buddy,

you're getting old."

But I try to stay young here.

I try to do young things.

I don't really see

myself changing

no matter how successful I get

or how low I get.

I will always be like this.

From this day on,

I would like to be known

as the Big Aristotle

[laughter]

Because it was Aristotle

who said,

"Excellence is not

a singular act but a habit.

You are

what you repeatedly do."

Take you back.

13 years old. 6'9".

Can't play.

All you hear is,

"You're 6'9"

and you can't dunk?

Man, you might as well

give it up."

All you hear is, "I don't know

"why this m*therf*cker

keeps playing.

He'll never"

That's all you hear.

And then you got a guy,

Ford McMurtry,

a young coach who says,

"I'm starting a team.

I'm picking you."

"Yeah, you. Come on."

And he believed.

Mm.

So now when you start

lookin' in the stands

and they're cheering

and they're wearing

your jersey,

I'm like, "Oh, my God.

II really am the man."

And then it's, "I'm the man."

"No, you're not. You lose."

Ugh. "I'm the man."

"No, you're not. You lose."

[grunts] "I'm the man."

"No, you're not. You lose."

Aah!

And then you win and you get

a big, kingly feast.

[vocalizing]

I'ma do this again.

"I'm the man." Aah!

I'ma do it again. I'm the man.

Aah! And then you lose again.

Now you gotta go back

to the bottom.

"Nah, I still got it."

The purest form and the best

form of basketball

is reaching the pinnacle

of greatness

even before you know

you're great.

'Cause you never forget.

I don't forget the people

that opened the door for me.

I don't forget the people

that gave me the answers

to the test.

I don't forget the people

that helped me become

who I am today.

'Cause once you forget,

you're deviating

from the program.

Bad things will happen to you.

I can remember walking around.

"How old are you?"

"I'm 17." "You're 17?"

And then 28, having a baby.

30 and marriage and kids

andyou know.

Now it's older.

I'ma check myself

into an old folks' home.

Hopefully I can purchase

the old folks' home,

get me a house

or a condo or whatever

and rent out

the whole top floor.

Hookah room, bedroom,

videotape room.

That'd be good enough for me.

You know,

I don't want my kids to feel

that I have to live with them.

Nah.

Put me in an old folks' home

and let me just slide on out.

- There's one other look

we're gonna have.

You guys just pull

this little lever

- Oh, my God.

- Yup. We'll do that.

- sh*t.

[laughter]

[shouts]

Uh, what time is it?

- Yes, it's probably around

6:306:14.

- Oh, so you had me here

f*cking three hours

smilin' and sh*t?

[laughter]

That'll f*ck up my date night.

- Bop ♪

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