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‘Running Down the Court Like This’: When Shaquille O’Neal Shared His Proudest Sporting Moment to Bear Grylls
When Shaquille O'Neal joined Bear Grylls on a memorable trek. He recounted his proudest sporting moment at the Staples Center, and remembered one of the most iconic matches back in the time.
Shaquille O'Neal, after retiring from his legendary career as one of the most dominant centers in the NBA, got a chance to do a gig with Man v/s Wild fame Bear Grylls. They went on a forest trek in 2016. At one point during the trek, Shaq found himself recalling old memories of his career as Bear Grylls asked him to share his proudest sporting moments of all time.
Shaq put his gigantic hands on Bear Grylls’ shoulder and asked him to close his eyes and dream with him.
"You ready to dream with me? Close your eyes," O'Neal said. "You're inside the Staples Center. The Lakers were down the whole fourth quarter by 16. If they lose this game, they will not go to the (NBA) Finals. Kobe (Bryant) has the ball at the top of the key. He crosses Scottie Pipen up. He goes to the lane,” Shaq recreates the scene.
Having already mastered the art of oratory, Shaq added, "What is this? Is this a shot? No, it's a lob. The lob is too high. Oh my God, Shaq comes out of nowhere, throws it down. He's running down the court like this. A lot of people was asking me what was I pointing at. Before I left, my son was two years old, he said, 'Daddy, I want you to win.'"
These were the exact words Shaq answered the host's question with while feasting on deer placenta, recalling memories from the 7th game of the 2000 Western Conference finals. As iconic as the match was, so was the way Dr. Shaq celebrated the victory pointing his hands towards his young son sitting in the suites.
The game mentioned was probably one of the biggest moments in Shaq's 20-year career in the NBA as he and his teammate Kobe Bryant capitalized on the consecutive misses by the Portland Trail Blazers in the last 12 minutes of the game, taking the LA Lakers to the 2000 NBA finals.
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