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“Once you go Shaq you never go back”: When Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal flirted with Daily Pop guest host Rocsi

Amulya Shekhar
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"Once you go Shaq you never go back": When Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal flirted with Daily Pop guest host Rocsi

A Lakers legend and TNT analyst these days, Shaq is an expert at creating moments with immense comic relief centered around his goofiness.

There are few players in the 21st century NBA who’re as embedded in American pop culture as Shaquille O’Neal. The #1 pick out of LSU, O’Neal set the bar high while making an All-Star team as a rookie.

His level of play even in his initial years was such that he was able to lead the Magic past Michael Jordan’s Bulls in the playoffs. Shaq would go on to achieve the last threepeat in league history at the turn of the century.

His 8 years in Los Angeles saw them make 4 NBA Finals. Shaq’s dominant play at the center position was an overwhelming factor in the recreation of basketball hype around the city.

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Since his retirement, O’Neal has been working for TNT as a pre-game show analyst. You might have heard of Inside the NBA, commonly considered the greatest show in sports television.

“Once you go Shaq you never go back”: When Shaquille O’Neal flirted with Daily Pop guest host Rocsi

Shaquille O’Neal was a guest on the Daily Pop show a couple of years back. He was on air to promote his line of JCPenney suits – an opportunity he used to provide us all some entertainment.

The Lakers legend seized a chance through the middle of the interview to begin flirting with guest host Rocsi. The Honduras-born television personality is indeed a beautiful woman, so Shaq shot his best shot while creating an internet moment.

“I’ll never be sad and pouting with you sitting over there. You’re in my DMs, I can’t even tell all of you what she’s saying. You know what she says? She says even though I’m Spanish I still like that chocolate. And I tell her once you go Shaq, you never go back.”

“So you owe me a date for that. Italian food at Manhattan beach. Can you please stay out of my DMs? You see how she keeps looking at me? These are the pictures that she sends me in my DMs.”

Also Read – “Michael Jordan was coachable in a way that Kobe Bryant wasn’t”: Phil Jackson explains the differences between the Lakers and Bulls legends

He did clarify at the end of the clip that he was staging all of this and not actually flirting with the 36-year-old. But we’d like to believe that in his heart of hearts, Shaq really was hoping she’d agree to the date.

About the author

Amulya Shekhar

Amulya Shekhar

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Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. He believes sports connect us to our best selves, and he hopes to help people experience sports more holistically.

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