In an otherwise stellar career, Shaquille O’Neal‘s trade from LA to Miami remains one of the blemishes in his resume. A lot has been said about the trade, about how Shaq felt about being shown the door after what he did for the Lakers. However, an overlooked perspective on the matter is how his kids felt about moving places at the time. Shaq’s first-born child Taahirah O’Neal recently talked about her experience of the trade, during an episode of Do I Know You? podcast with Jordie Rae.
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After spending four years with the Orlando Magic, the Diesel moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and stayed there till 2004. Then he went to the Miami Heat and after a successful tenure there, a flurry of trades followed between 2008 and 2011. While all of this happens in any player’s life, their families also suffer the brunt of it. Taahirah revealed that when her dad got traded, she used to stay with her siblings in Houston. Despite that, the process of moving was painful for the entire O’Neal clan.
Taahirah recalled sitting at the breakfast table with her family when ESPN broke the news that Shaq would be going to Miami. She told Jordie Rae, “I was so mad at the Lakers. The whole organization could have got these hands. I was eight years old, like, whatever, who cares.”
She was angry at the Lakers management because Shaq moving cities meant that the entire family would also have to uproot their lives and follow him. Thankfully, she had the support of her siblings, who brought some sort of stability to an otherwise busy and disrupted lifestyle.
Shaquille O’Neal reflects on his mistakes
We often hear that in order to reach the pinnacle, a lot of sacrifices need to be made. Shaq is a living example of the kind of sacrifice it takes for someone to become great. Having been through all of that, the big fella has learnt a lot of lessons and now passes his wisdom as advice to those who still have time to right the wrongs. On an episode of The Big Podcast, Shaq had a lot to say to Jason Kelce, who was a guest on the episode. Drawing inspiration from his own life, the NBA veteran advised Kelce to not hold onto ‘the athlete’s dream’ for a long time.
Shaq gives Jason Kelce some advice on retirement ️ pic.twitter.com/2wZHC5pYR7
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) February 17, 2024
He said, “My advice to you is you are going to retire, accept it. Enjoy your family brother. I made a lot of dumb a** mistakes to where I lost my family, and I didn’t have anybody. Enjoy your beautiful wife, enjoy your beautiful kids, and never dwell on what we had.” Shaq’s words must’ve had a lot of impact on Kelce because earlier this month, the Super Bowl winner announced his retirement.
