Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal hilariously revealed how he called for a time-out as his “heart started fluttering” looking at Halle Berry during a game against New York.
Advertisement
When one talks about the greatest big man in basketball history, Shaquille O’Neal is the one name that is constantly brought up in that conversation. Standing at 7-foot-1 and weighing a whopping 325 pounds, Shaq was a nightmare for any player who had the duty to guard him. And because of this inhuman size of his, The Diesel was able to command over the paint on both sides of the court, night in and night out for nearly two long decades.
At the conclusion of his illustrious 19-year career, Shaq had 15 All-Star appearances, 14 All-NBA selections, 2 Scoring titles, 4 NBA Championships, 3 Finals MVPs, 1 MVP, 28,596 points scored, numerous posterizers and several shattered backboards.
Also Read: Timberwolves’ new GM displays interest in disgruntled 76ers point guard
On a recent appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show”, Shaq revealed one of his favourite moments as a Laker. And no, it’s not any of his championships or famous dunks or All-Star game moments.
Let’s have a look into it.
Shaquille O’Neal reveals how Halle Berry watching his game at the MSG was his “favourite moment in time”
In the talk show with Kelly Clarkson, Big Diesel answered a wide range of questions. O’Neal also revealed what made playing on the Lakers special for him. He said:
“I wanted to give the superstars the same enjoyment that they gave me,” he said. “Like, when I walk into the game and I see Denzel [Washington] and Jack Nicholson, like, when I’m at home watching the Netflix, they give me so much enjoyment so I would always say, ‘OK, they’re here to watch me and Kobe [Bryant] win the championship, I gotta make sure I always play well.'”
Even though he found a lot of success in LA, his “favourite moment in time” came playing against New York at the Maddison Square Garden, when American actress Halle Berry was also an attendee. Shaq further revealed how he managed to sink his free throws in order to impress Berry.
“My favourite moment in time, New York, Maddison Square Garden. I’m at the free-throw line, and I’m looking at the stairs, and it’s Halle Berry; she’s walking down the stairs.”
“My heart started fluttering, I get nervous, I call a time out. Coach said, ‘What are you doing?!’ I said, ‘Shut up, Halle Berry is here to watch me. Nobody shoots, make sure I get the ball.’ And guess what, I actually made the free throw. I made the free throw, I was looking at Halle like [winks].”
“So when I was young, I used to stutter. She’s the only woman that makes my stuttering come back.”
Also Read: Skip Bayless at it again, questions Lakers star’s fitness and their title chances
To call a Shaquille O’Neal a bad free-throw shooter would be an understatement. Throughout his 19-year career, he visited the charity stripe a whopping 11,252 times, converting only 52.7% off the shots.
We never know, had Halle Berry attended all of Shaq’s games, O’Neal could’ve, maybe, been the best free-throw shooter in history.
