Shaquille O’Neal has always had a knack for the theatrics and his entrance prior to the All-Star Game was nothing short of the aforementioned. Most players would love to get led out of the tunnel by a rapper or at the very least, a hype man. Shaq, being the contrarian that he is, chose to go down a completely different path.
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A robot dog is what Shaq went with. Owning every bit of it, the ‘Big Aristotle’ marched down the aisle to introduce his All-Star team of ‘OGs’ while being led by a yellow dog that not only walked him down but began dancing in the midst of it all.
The crowd was loving it and NBA fans on social media clearly were having quite a bit of fun as well. “Shaq introduced with his new AI girlfriend,” wrote one fan while another was simply befuddled at the whole ordeal. “Why does Shaq have a d*mn robot dog leading him out,” they asked.
Shaq introduced with his new AI Girlfriend pic.twitter.com/XJwQnHYc4R
— Mike Zakarian (@MikeZakarian) February 17, 2025
Why does Shaq have a damn robot dog leading him out pic.twitter.com/J8uDtN7u3p
— st. vincent-st. marys grad (@StVincentGrad23) February 17, 2025
We really got a robot dog throwing it back on Shaquille O’Neal before GTA 6.#NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/C8Z5541XGT
— Billy (@BillyK253) February 17, 2025
This technological marvel isn’t just any ‘throwaway’ gimmick for O’Neal to use. Its name is ‘Spot’ and was developed by Boston Dynamics’. At a hefty price of $74,500 (shipping included), Spot is used mainly for deliveries, inspections, and canvasing hazardous regions.
The contrast between what Spot is meant to be doing versus what it just did at the All-Star Game is comedic on several levels. Only Shaq would hilariously reduce an object capable of such feats to merely dancing prior to a televised basketball game.
It’s unclear if Shaq is in partnership with Boston Dynamics to help promote their latest product. Knowing O’Neal, he must’ve come across it and simply thought it looked cool and so employed it in escorting himself out to the game.
It isn’t all too much of a surprise that Shaq did this. He’s been very vocal about his love for technology for years now. A self-proclaimed ‘geek’, he’s invested in tons of tech start-ups over the years.
“I called him plenty of times and I’d be like ‘Can I just look at it?’” said Shaq in 2018 about calling Steve Jobs to simply look at the iPhone and gawk in awe at its existence. This is quite the clear indication of his love for tech and its advancement in that space.
