“He’s Rolling, He’s Laughing”: Shaquille O’Neal Couldn’t Contain Himself As Will Ferrell Threw Him Out of a Lakers Game

Jason and Travis Kelce recently hosted Will Ferrell on their podcast ‘New Heights’. The comedic actor is a well-known Lakers fan who has witnessed the greatness of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Shaquille O’Neal from courtside on several occasions. But on the podcast, he recalled the time he played a more active role at Staples Center by chucking Shaq out of the arena. 

“I had friends who gave me a Staples security guard outfit. And I snuck it into the building and then just pretended to be one of the security guys,” Ferrell revealed to the Kelces. “They [Staples] had no idea.”

The game he’s referring to was played on February 13th, 2013. The Lakers were back on their home turf after a seven-game road trip and the stars descended on Staples Center to celebrate Kobe and the team. Shaq had retired two years prior and had probably taken time off from his TNT duties to catch the game from the sidelines. Until Ferrell intervened, that is. 

“I looked down and Shaq happens to be at the game. He’s rolling, he’s laughing. Someone taps me on the shoulder and says ‘Shaq’s ready to leave the game if you wanna throw him out.’”

“I escorted him out and then we had the biggest laugh. I go, ‘Shaq, do you know how extraordinary that is that you’re allowing me to throw you out of an NBA game?’ He was like, ‘Are you kidding me? That is so funny.’” Ferrell recounted.

Only Will Ferrell would get asked to throw Shaq out of a Lakers game pic.twitter.com/akUaZKYsRd

— New Heights (@newheightshow) January 13, 2025

The stars aligned at Staples Center that night, allowing the legendary actor to pull off this unlikely gag. Though it might have been recompense for the SNL skit O’Neal and Ferrell never got to share with the world. 

Ferrell and O’Neal were trying to pull off gags long before 2013

In 1998, when Shaq was still a Laker, he found himself in New York when Will Ferrell was working on Saturday Night Live. As a fan of the Purple and Gold, Ferrell couldn’t let the opportunity pass him by and he invited the Diesel over to film some sketches together. 

“He was so funny and natural to the point where one of his sketches got cut because he had a funnier show than the host,” the six-time Emmy Award winner shared.

Ferrell worked on SNL from 1995 to 2002 and though he holds his experience in high regard, the unreleased skits with O’Neal remain heavy on his mind. 

“We wrote this sketch where all the cast members were picking on me and making me cry…And I’m like, ‘Shaq, everyone’s making fun of me.’ And he’s like, ‘Come with me, Will.’ … And he picked me up in his arms, and we proceeded to sing a duet called ‘No One’s Gonna Hurt My Little Man,’” Ferrell revealed on ‘New Heights’.

It certainly sounds like a sketch worth watching if SNL ever decided to open up their vaults. Until that happens we’ll just have to hope that Ferrell shares more details of the iconic sketches he cooked up for Shaquille O’Neal.