NBA

9-Foot Shaquille O'Neal Statue Unveiled Outside Staples Center

A nine-foot, 1,200-pound bronze statue of Basketball Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal was unveiled Friday outside Staples Center in front of a crowd of thousands that included former Laker greats Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Kobe Bryant and coach Phil Jackson.

The statue is suspended 10 feet above the ground in Star Plaza and connected to Staples Center, depicting O'Neal throwing down one of his signature thunderous dunks.

"This moment is very unexpected," O'Neal told the crowd, noting that he believes there are "at least two Lakers ahead of me that definitely deserve a statute," referring to James Worthy and Wilt Chamberlain. "I definitely appreciate this honor very much," 

In addition to the Lakers, O'Neal thanked his family for standing by him while he was traveling so much during his playing career. Three of his six children spoke during the ceremony, and he told them, "The way you delivered those speeches -- you're going to law school, you're going to law school, you're going to law school.''

O'Neal recognized some of his former teammates in the crowd, but gave special thanks to Kobe Bryant, who spoke during the event. The former teammates had a famous falling out that led to O'Neal's departure from the team and they remained estranged for years before reconciling.

"Brother, thank you. We pushed each other, you know, we had our battles, we had our times. But we always had respect for each other and we were able to win three championships -- definitely couldn't have done it without you. I appreciate you very much,'' he said. "Next time we're out here for a statute, it'll probably be your statue, so thank you.''

The statue was created by Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany, who also created the statues of Abdul-Jabbar, Chick Hearn, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Luc Robitaille and Jerry West in Star Plaza.

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The statue is the eighth in Star Plaza. The others honor International Boxing Hall of Fame member Oscar De La Hoya and NHL all-time leading scorer Wayne Gretzky.

Prior to the unveiling, a street festival dubbed "Shaqtown," was held on Chick Hearn Court and Microsoft Square at L.A. Live, featuring a variety of interactive games, including Fireball Alley, Block-A-Shaq and Plinko, a Hall of Fame exhibit, specialty photo opportunities, a Ferris wheel, a mini Lakers basketball court and a DJ playing music.

O'Neal played for the Lakers from 1996-2004, leading the team to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000-2002, winning the NBA Finals MVP award each time.

O'Neal was selected for the All-Star Game seven times as a Laker and was the league's MVP for the 1999-2000 season.

During the statute-unveiling ceremony, Abdul-Jabbar compared himself with Shaq, saying, "We're both over 7 feet tall. We're both dashingly bald, and both famously outspoken." He also pointed to their acting careers -- noting their respective roles in "Airplane" and "Kazaam" -- but "both of us were suspiciously overlooked for the Academy Awards."

Bryant, meanwhile, hailed O'Neal's greatness on the court, calling him the "most dominating player I've ever seen."

"He's such a fun, outgoing guy," Bryant said. "Loves to tell jokes, loves to have fun with his teammates, practical jokes. But before the tip-off, something happens. The switch goes off for him. He's no longer joking around. He's no longer playing around. He's not smiling anymore. He's out there and he's trying to dominate.

"I remember the playoff series against San Antonio. We're going into the arena and he and I were sitting with each other in the back of the bus and he leans over to me and he goes, 'Bring it to me early tonight. Bring it to me early.' I look at him and I'm like, 'All right what's going on?' He said, 'When I was a kid, David Robinson wasn't very nice to me.' I said, say no more. This series is in the bag, man. That's it. That's it."

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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