In the four major North American sports, there are a few figures who transcend the limitations on professional athletes. That figure in the NBA is LeBron James. In the NFL, it’s Tom Brady. When it comes to hockey, Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid take the cake. And in the MLB, there is no bigger name than Shohei Ohtani.
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Even before Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, people knew of the Japanese superstar. But weird as it sounds, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal was a little late to the Ohtani fan club.
Ohtani‘s skill set as a baseball player is unlike anything the sport has ever seen. He isn’t just an elite pitcher, but one of—if not—the best hitters the game has to offer. As a result, the Dodgers were incredibly aggressive during the pursuit of Ohtani in the 2023 offseason. The two parties eventually agreed on a 10-year $700 million contract, which marked the largest contract in the history of professional sports at the time.
The city of Los Angeles was naturally buzzing when Ohtani signed with the Dodgers, since they were already familiar with him. Afterall, Ohtani used to play for the in-city rival, the Los Angeles Angels. Yet somehow, Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t really tapped into the hype.
“I’m not really a baseball fan,” O’Neal prefaced on The Big Podcast. “Is [Shohei Ohtani] as spectacular as I see in his highlights?”
O’Neal posed to question to his co-host, Adam Lefkoe, and special guest Anthony Anderson. The ‘Black-ish’ star has been a Dodgers fan for nearly his entire life. He made sure to educate O’Neal on Ohtani’s greatness.
“I’ve sat in Dodger Stadium and watched him do some pretty miraculous things,” Anderson proclaimed, still unable to believe that O’Neal wasn’t familiar with the four-time MVP.
That said, O’Neal wasn’t completely clueless. The Lakers legend might have been late to the party, but he could hear the music from a mile away.
You know how I know him? That 750 [million]. I was in the kitchen one day, and it said ‘$750 million’. I thought it was a typo,” O’Neal revealed.
What makes Ohtani’s contract even more remarkable is the fact that he has decided to defer payments. Essentially, he is only earning roughly $2 million for the foreseeable future, which spreads out his contract for the next several years. This has given the Dodgers much more flexibility to build a dominant title contender around their multi-faceted superstar.
It’s very likely that Shaq still won’t be watching any baseball, even after Anderson practically presenting a rather compelling case in front of him. That said, being business savvy, if an opportunity arises to work with Ohtani, Shaq is going to lap it up with those gigantic hands.
