Shaquille O’Neal has always valued his family over everything else. While his biological father wasn’t in the picture during his childhood and upbringing, his stepfather, Philip Harrison, made his presence felt immediately and raised O’Neal as if he were his own son.
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The two shared such a bond with one another that Shaq refused to call Harrison his ‘stepfather’ and referred to him as his real father. While he was tough on Shaq growing up, given his military background, it was Harrison who took him to a game Julius Erving was playing at, leading to a young Shaq asking his father to train him in basketball.
The same goes for his mother, Lucille, who O’Neal has taken a lot from. Just like his ‘Inside the NBA’ counterpart, Charles Barkley, his love for his mother is endless. One thing Lucille taught her son was to make everybody remember your name and he most certainly has succeeded at doing so these past 3 decades.
Shaquille O’Neal lost his grandmother towards the end of the regular season
Shaq was just as close with his grandmother, Odessa Chamblis, as he was with his parents. However, he would suffer an incalculable loss in early April of 1996 when he learned of his grandmother’s passing. In his final season with the Orlando Magic before signing a $120 million deal with the Lakers, the Magic were supportive of his decision to step away from basketball for a while.
He would eventually show up for Magic-Bulls game and was despondent while speaking with reporters. “I was going to take another week off. I didn’t feel like doing anything. I didn’t feel like talking. I didn’t feel like playing. I didn’t feel like moving,” said Shaquille O’Neal at the time.
The Magic would actually go on to lose this game against the Bulls, 90-86. Given that he had missed the previous few games and was dealing with what he was dealing with, he came off the bench. He dropped 21 points on 10-16 shooting from the field while grabbing 9 rebounds.
Shaquille O’Neal talked about losing grandmother while discussing Isaiah Thomas
Isaiah Thomas lost his sister, Chyna, during the 2017 Playoffs as the Celtics were facing off against the Dwyane Wade-led Bulls. Despite this, he played through the emotional pain and even dropped 33 points in the game right after her passing.
While discussing Thomas’s emotional state prior to the game, as he was seen crying and getting consoled by Avery Bradley, Shaq brought up how he felt playing a game after losing a loved one as well. He reiterated what he had said 21 years ago, so it’s safe to say that the 4x NBA champ understood where IT’s mind was at.
Also read: Shaquille O’Neal aka DJ Diesel and the Super Bowl Fun House is Back With Snoop Dogg as its Headliner
