Shaquille O’Neal’s mother Lucille O’Neal recently made an appearance on Brandi Harvey’s Vault Empowers show. Halfway through the show, she was asked if she ever had to “knock” Shaq down after he got a “taste of fame.” Mama O’Neal said that she never had to do that because she knew her son was always a good person at heart.
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However, there was one instance when Lucille had to step in. She recalled the time when Shaq and the late, great Kobe Bryant weren’t getting along very well during their stint with the Lakers. Dr. O’Neal said that she had to step in at that time to speak some sense into Shaq.
She said, “I have caught him up in some instances where I said, ‘That’s enough’…When he and Kobe were not getting along and I told him, stop going through all of that on television. Y’all have to learn how to get along.”
Lucille said that not only did Shaq take her advice, but she also started seeing positive changes in his relationship with Kobe.
“It helped their relationship when I said it’s time to let that go,” she added.
The Shaq-Kobe beef was one of the biggest talking points in the NBA for years. They were constantly throwing shots at one another, they constantly talked about the feud publicly and even got into a physical fight once.
The beef got so ugly at one point that they had to be separated and it ended with the Lakers trading Shaq to Miami. Even at the height of his beef with Kobe, Shaq listened to his mother and changed the way he was acting. This shows the kind of respect he has for Mama Lucille. But this wasn’t the only time when she had to step in to stop her son from crossing a line.
Shaq’s mother helped him bury the hatchet with Charles Barkley
During a conversation with Draymond Green, Shaq talked about what happened after he fought with Charles Barkley on the court. He recalled being hit on the head by Chuck during a game. Shaq thought that he had to take his revenge, or else he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without people making fun of him. So, he threw a punch but couldn’t connect.
After the incident, he remembered walking down the tunnel when he was handed a phone by his uncle. Shaq said, “I’m like, ‘Hello,’ and it was my mom and Charles’ mom on the phone. She’s like, ‘Y’all shouldn’t be doing this.’ I’m like, ‘Who is this?’ My mom [said], ‘Shaq, this is Charles’ mom.’ [I said,] ‘Yes, ma’am.’ [Chuck’s mom said,] ‘Y’all stop this sh*t. I already talked to Charles. Y’all hug that sh*t out.’”
When the order came from his mother, Shaq couldn’t do anything but follow what was said. When he saw his mom after that incident, she told him that she had been best friends with Barkley’s mother for 30 years.
