Ty Lue Had $20,000 Reasons to Rejoice After Shaquille O’Neal Met With Him in His Rookie Season

Tyronn Lue and Shaquille O’Neal have a unique relationship that goes back to their time as teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers. Lue was a reserve point guard on the team for 2 of their threepeat years.

Despite their different roles on the team, Lue and Shaq developed a close bond off the court. They would often play pranks on each other and engage in playful banter during practices and games.

Lue was also known for being one of the few players who could stand up to Shaq’s towering presence and give him some good-natured ribbing.

Ty Lue reveals how Shaquille O’Neal helped him out as a rookie in a spot of bother

Ty Lue was recently a guest on the Pivot Podcast. He talked a lot about his playing career, including his most famous moment from the 2001 NBA Finals.

He revealed that as a rookie, he was nervous about his career prospects, fearing he wouldn’t be in the NBA beyond 3 years. However, Shaq took him under his wing, reassured him, and even helped him out financially:

“The first week I got in town, Eddie Jones took me to the Century Club, and I met Shaq the first night. Shaq was like ‘Man, glad to have you. Come to the house.'”

“So we go to Shaq’s house the next day, he gave me like $20,000 cash. He said ‘I know you don’t go no money, I know it’s a lockout. Take care of yourself.'”

When asked whether he ever paid Shaq the money back, Lue replied emphatically to the negative. He revealed that he didn’t have much money in his first 2 seasons due to the lockout and that Shaq never wanted the money back.

The NBA lockout of 1998-99 was only resolved in January 1999, by which time much of the stipulated time for a normal NBA calendar had passed by.

Teams eventually only played 50 regular season games each, before the playoffs. This was the shortest regular season of all time. Consequentially, players made less money at that time.

How good is Shaq’s relationship with his former teammate?

After their playing days were over, Lue and Shaq remained friends and would catch up whenever they had the chance. In fact, Shaq has publicly endorsed Lue as a coach, praising his ability to communicate with players and his strategic acumen.

When Lue won his first championship as a head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, Shaq was one of the first people to congratulate him on social media.

Overall, Lue and Shaq’s relationship is a testament to the bonds that can be formed on and off the basketball court. The 2 represent opposite ends of the boisterous spectrum, and yet had some great times together.