Shaquille O’Neal Reveals Rare Movie Starring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Others That Inspired His NBA Journey

Shaquille O’Neal made his debut in the NBA on November 6, 1992. He grew up watching the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, Julius Erving, and the rise of Michael Jordan. Shaq must have learned from many other stars while he looked to make a name for himself. However, it won’t be wrong to say that the players who inspired him more than others were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Dr. J.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a menace in his playing days. Absolutely unstoppable. A 7’2” man driving with the ball at that speed, pace, agility and balance. Crazy-scary to think about. He ended his career with the most points in history. Additionally, he was the main protagonist along with Magic Johnson for the rise of the Lakers’ dynasty in the 80s. Kareem is, without a doubt, one of the greatest basketball players ever. Many legends of the time actually considered him the absolute greatest. Another legend who inspired Shaq was Julius Erving.

Julius Erving, or Dr J, was another player of that time who just had the specialty of being unstoppable when in full flow. Dr J won the MVP 4 times in his career and was 1983 NBA champion. Shaquille O’Neal revealed it was the movie starring both Kareem and Dr J which inspired him to start playing basketball.

Also read: How Kareem and the Lakers squad inspired Shaq?

How did Shaquille O’Neal start playing basketball?

The Pivot Podcast invited Shaq to talk about his early days, his relationship with his parents, his career and the start of it all. Shaq talked about his father and said that he was grateful for what all he did for young Shaq. He revealed that his father’s only mission was to make him a leader and not a follower.

Shaq shared how he started playing basketball, “I actually started playing basketball because I watched a movie called the Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, Dr J — and my dad knew my love for Dr J. So he said okay, you’re not really doing well in school. You do better in school, I’ll take you to see Dr J. So I managed to get all Cs, we go to Madison Square Garden because I’m from north, New Jersey. So we go to the Square Garden. We’re at the top. You know it’s my first time. I’m like damn this is nice. Dr J goes baseline, throws it down, the crowd goes crazy.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Shaq’s illustrious career.

He continued, “It’s like a bunch of basketball guys enter me like I knew then that this is what I wanted to do. And my father was a military drill sergeant. You couldn’t say hey, hi you’d have to address him sir and like if you say sir he don’t respond, you don’t feel like talking. So I was like sir, I know what I want to do. And his words, I think I was like 12 or 13. [He said] ‘If you listen to me I’ll make you one of the best big men ever.’ And that’s how I started playing basketball. So it was a lot of discipline, a lot of love and the the best thing he taught me is to never be satisfied”

Shaq had a special bond with his father. In the end it was not Kareem, it was not Dr J. But it was Shaq’s father who inspired him and made him the man he is today.

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