Shaquille O’Neal had received a lot of criticism during his early days in the NBA for his inclination toward hip-hop. The Diesel didn’t feel it was necessary to give up his passion for making music just because he was a full-time basketball player. On the contrary, his association with the NBA provided him more opportunities to showcase his lyrical talents. However, Shaq recently claimed that not only was hip-hop not an obstacle in his career, but it actually helped him win his three Championships.
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Shaq’s association with the rap industry would reach its peak after his move to Los Angeles in 1996. His stint as the centerpiece of the Lakers organization would bring him in contact with some of the greatest rappers of all time.
Widely regarded as the greatest NBA duo ever, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to a three-peat in 2002, the only NBA team to achieve the incredible feat after the Chicago Bulls in the 90s.
However, it all apparently came down to two record companies. The Diesel has named two companies that took him over the hump three times in a row at the time.
As it turns out, rap music was essential for the Big Man to dominate the hardwood. Shaq recently shared a reel on his Instagram stories that explained how two companies helped him win the three-peat for the Lakers. The reel from ShaqFu Radio featured the Big Man’s own account of the golden days:
Shaq names 2 companies that helped him win three chips with the Lakers pic.twitter.com/kf5Jsasr8G
— NBA stories (@SS75352476) June 23, 2023
“There’s only two companies I can thank to help me win a championship-No Limit and Death Row. I can remember riding to the game playing ‘Murder Was the Case’…’Make Them Say Ugh’.”
“So between Master P and Snoop and Suge Knight and Lil Wayne and all those guys-No Limit and Death Row, I wanna thank you guys for helping me win three championships in a row,” the big man added.
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Both No Limit and Death Row Records, featuring the likes of Snoop Dogg, Master P, 2Pac and others, dominated the rap scene in the 90s and early 2000s. Therefore, it’s not surprising to see the Big Diesel credit them for his Championship wins.
Shaq had his own music deal back in the day
Shaq made his mark with his music in the 90s as well. The four-time NBA champion even went platinum with his debut album, Shaq Diesel.
Not only that, the Lakers icon also managed to bag a 3-album $10 million deal completely out of the blue. So it’ll fair to say that, Shaq is not only one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but a prominent hip-hop aficionado of his time as well.
Not many in the NBA have been able to add as much value to the hip-hop scene as the Big Aristotle had back in his heydays.
