[TV static drones]
[bright tone]
[clicking]
[upbeat music]
- In 1991, marketing class,
the marketing professor said,
"Okay, class, I want you to present items
that you could see being sold in the future."
Something like that.
So I'm looking at Jordan. He has the Jumpman.
I'm like, "That's really how he dunks."
[dramatic orchestral music]
This is how I dunk.
So I came up with this emblem right here.
Dunkman.
So I went to a registry place in Baton Rouge.
Registered. Boom, boom, boom.
All that. [bell dings]
So you know me, I'm comin' in with the shirt
with the Shaq emblem on it.
I'm comin' in with the shoes.
I'm comin' in with the cereal boxes.
Professor's, "Oh, very well-thought-out, Mr. O'Neal.
Unfortunately, big guys don't sell."
And he was telling the truth.
Only guys who had a commercial at the time
was Magic and Bird.
- In person.
- Fuck that. Fuck that.
The whole world 'bout to know my name.
♪ ♪
- Shaquille. - Shaq.
- Shaq.
- Shaquille O'Neal.
- Watch out for the Shaq attack.
- Big Diesel is going to South Beach.
Lakers are trading Shaquille O'Neal
to the Miami Heat.
- When the Lakers threw me in the trash
and people started to doubt me...
"Okay. Y'all want to get rid of me?"
- Shaquille O'Neal!
- Marketing time.
[upbeat music]
People that know me, they know what time it is
and they know what the Diesel is comin' to do.
I'ma bring a championship to Miami, I promise.
Get your tickets now. Buy cable now.
Get your jerseys now.
Pull your boats up to the docking stations now.
- Yeah.
- Can't afford a Sea-Doo, get a raft.
[laughter]
You can't afford a raft, go to Walmart
and get the blow-up raft like I got at my house.
- He could've walked away from basketball after LA
and still been fine.
The brand of Shaq was still strong.
But he still had that chip on his shoulder.
That, "Let me get in shape one more time."
And what better person than Pat Riley?
- Go! Go! - Hold up.
- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. - Hold up now.
- The number one premise in my coaching philosophy
was to try and convince the most talented players
to get in world-class shape.
When I was a player, Bill Sharman, he said,
"You must be the best-conditioned player
"in camp.
"And what I need is to have you guard
"Jerry West and Gail Goodrich
"and Elgin Baylor
to help keep them in better shape."
And I did go against Jerry West every day.
And he would look at me like,
"Are they paying you to beat me up?"
I said, "Yeah. They are."
♪ ♪
- My mentality is I don't need to get ready
for you bums.
First championship, 345.
I'm feelin' good. I ain't workin' out.
Second championship, 365.
I'm still the best.
I feel good. I'm workin' out.
Third championship. Toe surgery.
I was a little heavy.
But I still was bustin' your ass.
- When he came here, he was, like, 373 pounds.
And he didn't look like he was out of shape.
He's a big guy.
- Get in shape. Get--all summer.
'Cause I have something to prove.
Like, "Oh, after all I gave y'all,
"y'all still think I can't do it?
Okay. I'm comin' for you."
all: Aww.
- Wade. The set. Magnificent.
- When the trade happened, I was in LA
going to the ESPY awards.
And when I hit the carpet,
"Shaquille O'Neal new teammate, Dwyane Wade."
I got cheers in LA, and I'm like, "This is crazy."
Shaq is at a different level.
He's already on
The 50 Most Baddest Motherfucker List.
[chuckles]
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- The big fella is in the house,
about to make his debut
back in the Eastern Conference.
- Inside, Shaq-- he's just too strong.
Bodies are flying right and left.
- He's showing why he's the most dominant
big fella in the game today.
- Shaq still had a lot left.
And it also coincided
with the absolute incredible improvement
of Dwyane Wade in his second year.
They were an incredible duo together.
- And the drive--in the air.
Shaq slammed it through.
- It was just the genuine respect--
and you gotta have that with your best players.
There can't be jealousy.
There was none of that here.
- Shaquille O'Neal with Dwyane Wade--
that's probably the most hyped duo
since Crockett and Tubbs.
- So first thing I did with D Wade
is I sat him down and said, "This your team."
- Shaq wanted to talk to me
about the previous relationships--
things that happened with Penny,
things that happened with Kobe--
and right away just let me know...
- "You be the man. I'ma be the consultant."
- "Like, I'm here to help you reach a level of greatness
that I see in you."
- ♪ You need to go where people know your name ♪
[vocalizing]
♪ I don't know the rest of the words ♪
♪ But I live where everybody knows my name ♪
[vocalizing]
What's up, baby?
- ♪ We wish you a Merry-- ♪
- I remember being
in the locker room my first season...
In the Staples Center playing against the Lakers,
and Shaq went the fuck off.
- Goes right into the lane,
and has it taken away.
- And he said, "I did not come here..."
[chuckles]
"For us to get beat by some motherfuckers."
[laughs] Like, he went off.
That's how much it meant.
- Catching up to him, they get lucky
as Jones seems-- [whistle blasts]
[speaking indistinctly]
Shaquille O'Neal with a foul.
And the place erupts
as Shaquille O'Neal has fouled out.
Now to Odom. Three-point led.
Hey.
Two-point game.
And three seconds remain in overtime.
[buzzer blares]
- Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat
have won 11 straight games.
- Shaq is more of one of those "follow my lead" leaders.
[all chanting indistinctly]
The way he led us,
the way he showed us how to win,
Shaq seemed to do it gracefully.
Miami as a basketball town.
Before Shaq got there, it was not a thing.
It was football.
The Dolphins. The Hurricanes.
It was never known as basketball.
- Like I said, man, before I came to this town,
man, this town was nothing, man,
but now that I'm here, all right.
- Big fella came and changed it.
- Out to O'Neal.
- Ooh, it clears.
- He almost ripped the rim down.
It is swagger time.
- ♪ Back in the day ♪
- Going to the Lakers,
towards the end of the season,
if we already clinched, Phil would say,
"Hey, man, we clinched. Take this time off.
"No parties.
"Come in and work out twice a day.
"Cardio.
"And then the day before the game,
"I need you to give me one good practice
and then we go."
We got two games left.
- Don't hold up, dude.
- So I go to Stan and be like,
"Listen, man, we clinched."
That's what I used to do back then.
I would rest.
"No."
So the last game against the Indiana Pacers,
I'm playin', but I'm not playin' hard
'cause I don't want to get hurt.
I go try to take a charge. Jermaine O'Neal.
Knee to the thigh. Bop.
Rips it in half.
- Shaq is going to the locker room
and gimping a little bit.
- I'm out. But I can't be out.
What do I do? Shoot it up.
- ♪ Bop ♪
[engine turns over]
♪ Bop ♪
- One, two, three, Heat.
- Now, here is Shaq...
[crowd cheering]
- ♪ Bop ♪
- Now, we were up the whole game.
And I had the ball, but I can't make the Shaq move
'cause this--aah.
- Wade saw the opening,
finding O'Neal...
He is fouled. - And we lose.
- ♪ Bop ♪
♪ Bop ♪
- And now I'd like to introduce
the new head coach, Pat Riley.
- I have a responsibility to this team
and to the players that I traded for,
picked, signed.
And I think right now, at this moment,
that I'm the best person to do that.
- Pat Riley was the only smart one
to talk business with me.
He said, "Shaq, I love you.
"I can give you $125,000,000 for four.
"You don't have no players.
Or I can give you $100,000,000 for five."
And I'm like, my guys--
D Wade, Alonzo, Udonis
James Posey, Antoine Walker,
Gary and Jason--
and I'm like, "I gotta win before young fella wins.
Let's do it."
- I loved watching Shaq lead that team.
♪ ♪
- Shot, baby. - Thanks. [chuckles]
- For that year, Dwyane Wade was becoming
the greatest player in the world.
He was having that kind of a season.
And he and Shaquille were a perfect match,
Shaquille being the post-up player.
And we could go to him and play low and strong
or we can isolate Dwyane.
Everything that I ran offensively
when we needed a basket always involved
Shaquille and Dwyane.
They both made each other better.
- And for the first time
in this franchise's history,
the Miami heat are off to the NBA championship!
- Get your Game One 2006 program.
- Here we go. - Watch the Mavericks
beat the Heat.
- And O'Neal, who is 0 for 7 from the line,
will shoot two.
- Shaquille O'Neal. Two shots.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- He is just--
can't find the mark at all tonight.
- In the finals, I seen some moments of Shaq realize
he wasn't that dominant big fella no more.
- Free throws was off.
Everything was just off that series.
[cheers and applause]
- Again, he's not even been close.
He's really struggling right now.
He admitted he's thinking too much at the line,
but said, "I will start to hit my free throws."
Oh. - Terry right back
with the steal and puts it in.
- We haven't had a field goal in over six minutes.
In the zone as Wade gets inside.
Hop step. 2.2--
- I'm not really having the Shaq-type finals.
I'm gettin' old and you can see it.
I'm not--not doing nothing MVP-like.
But now, if we lose, it's my fault.
- Stackhouse to three.
Knocks it down. Shots.
- Nowitzki. Very patient.
And the lead is up to 18.
- You helped Shaq take only five shots.
What did you all do to keep him away from the ball?
- You know, nobody can stop Shaq in one-on-one.
We all know that.
I think it's a collective team effort.
And I thought we did a decent job today.
- Well, the Dallas Mavericks
with a convincing victory once again
here at the American Airlines Center.
Shaquille O'Neal, the lowest-scoring
playoff game of his career.
- We lose the first two games.
So now I have a team meeting.
They're all lookin' for me. I ain't got it.
"And I gotta check you motherfuckers."
The fuck you gonna do, D Wade? - What you gonna do, D Wade?
- Motherfucker. - Like, why you comin' at me?
- D Wade, motherfucker, you want to be
like Kobe and Lebron? This your fuckin' chance.
- But he knew that for us to win a championship,
I had to get pushed forward.
At the same time, you don't know
if you're really ready, neither.
If you really ready to be "the guy."
- In the weather today, noisy, rumbling thunder storms
rolling across Miami.
[dramatic music]
- He created a character.
- Yeah. He right here. Flash right here.
- He created another person... [chuckles]
For me that people call me.
What up? [buzzer drones]
- Is this game starting
to slip away from the Miami Heat?
Down by nine, they can't afford to go down 3-0.
Wade banks it in.
- ♪ Ah-ah ♪
- Wade pulls up. Puts it in.
- Coming from Shaq,
that he sees greatness in me,
you want to talk about confidence...
- ♪ Flash ♪
- Wade has been brilliant
here in the fourth quarter.
- They was gonna go to Hack-a-Shaq at certain points
and we had to figure out how to utilize
Shaq's greatness.
And we had to play against the rules.
- Williams for three.
Off the mark. O'Neal, the rebound.
Goes back up.
Misses the jam but is fouled.
And now Shaquille O'Neal will go
to the free throw line.
- All right, big fella,
I see you in the gym all the time.
He down there shootin' them broke-ass free throws,
but he down there shootin' them.
I know what you do. You know what I'm saying?
Put that ball on your fingertips
and flick that wrist, dog. Let's go.
[dramatic note]
[cheers and applause]
- And his first toss gets right through.
Come on.
[Queen's "Flash Gordon"]
Now he's gonna pursue the high percentage shot.
Wade. It's good!
One-point game.
41 for Dwyane Wade.
Oh. Haslem with the steal.
Here goes Haslem inside. Stripped by Terry and a foul.
Tie game. Miami leads.
- And there's one second remaining.
- They could go for the win.
There it was. - Gets the ball.
Knocked away! And the Heat survive! And--
- By? - Dwyane Wade.
- There you go.
- A stirring fourth quarter comeback.
And the Miami Heat right back in the NBA finals.
- ♪ Flash, aah ♪
♪ ♪
- ♪ Gordon's alive ♪
♪ Flash, aah ♪
- Just get it in.
- ♪ He's a miracle ♪
- Puts it up for the win.
Oh, no good.
And Miami wins again to take a 3-2 lead.
- ♪ Flash ♪
- Pat Riley said, "You motherfuckers
"better bring one suit.
"If you ain't got one suit,
"that show me you don't believe
and you will not be fuckin' playin'."
So I'm like, "Damn."
So when we get to the airport,
he checkin' motherfuckers' bags.
- Over 20,000 jammed into
the American Airlines Center, ready for game six.
Williams loves to run on the open floor.
Wade's jumper.
O'Neal! - Oh, boy.
- Nowitzki to the basket,
left-handed.
Gets the roll.
Walker flips it up and in.
Antoine Walker with a big play.
O'Neal back in.
A three. It's good!
Stackhouse makes it a one-point game.
- Wade. It's up.
- No. - It is no good.
But Haslem got a rebound.
And he travels. It's Dallas' ball.
Wade missed both free throws
and Dallas could tie it with a three-pointer.
Jason Terry into the front court.
Right wing against Peyton. - Foul.
- Terry puts it up. Won't go.
Rebound, Wade.
The Miami Heat, they've done it.
They win their first championship
in franchise history.
- And the Heat have won
the NBA championship, four games to two.
- It is the first title
for the Miami Heat in 18 years of existence.
[cheers and applause]
- Congratulations, Miami Heat, 2006 NBA champions.
- You know, David Stern was up there
and he's talking,
and everyone started telling me like,
"Yo, go up to the front. Go to the front."
And I'm like, "For what?"
They like, "To get the trophy."
I'm like, "Oh, snap.
I did just ball out, right?"
- Congratulations 2006 MVP Dwyane Wade.
- He brings the award and then Shaq takes it.
You know--I mean, like, I've never seen nobody do that
from the commissioner.
And it was only right that he passed it down to me.
[cheers and applause]
Also too, like, "I told you."
[chuckles]
"I told you I was gonna make you a star."
♪ ♪
That team was built for a one-year run.
One year.
First game of the season
when we played the Bulls on ring night,
I knew we were in trouble. [chuckles]
- Championship ring night
for the Miami Heat and they have struggled.
It has been a flat performance.
- Then the vets came in, little bit of weight...
[chuckles]
Still smelling like the summer.
There was no way in hell we were winning that year.
You don't get beat by damn near 40 on ring night.
You don't do it.
- Worst opening night loss
by a defending champion-- - Miami.
- Well, the knock on Miami this year
is that maybe age will catch up to them.
And they certainly look old here tonight, Marv.
- 2007, I come back and it's a different team.
- Many months later...
- D Wade is hurt. I'm hurt.
We're having a terrible year.
So now that we won with his philosophy,
now Pat Riley, he's back.
- I coached hard, worked hard.
I used to tell people that I don't have stress.
I just am an intense guy.
I was stressed out.
Tremendous amount of anxiety and pressure
that I put on myself to try to win.
- Pat's on edge. I'm on edge. Everybody's on edge.
So we're at practice...
- J Will come up last.
- I wasn't a rule guy.
But the most important thing for me was being on time.
That's it.
- And so Pat, on his ass,
would have been the last one upstairs.
Whatever, whatever. - That was it.
- So Shaq being the vet,
and he's gonna protect his guys--
"No, J Will. I got it."
And so him and Pat get into it.
- Round one. Fight.
- If I wanted to send a message to any player,
I would always bring it up in front of the team.
So this is the way you get the real truth out.
And then if there's other people
who disagree with me, come out.
- "Yeah. You're the Senate, but I'm the president.
Don't challenge me, Mr. Senator Man."
"Oh, you want to be a big man? You get out."
- And he said something, you know, graphic...
- Motherfucker, put me out.
- Which I didn't like.
So here we go.
- Some people don't like to be challenged.
- You know, I didn't want it. - Me included.
- But if you want it, okay, let's go.
- Shaq got closer and closer and closer to Pat,
to the point where his long-ass finger
was right here.
- And it was one of these things.
And he's doing this in my face, and I'm yelling so hard
that spittle's coming out of my mouth
and spittle's coming out of his mouth...
- And they both talkin' shit.
And neither one of them is backing down.
But at this moment, I'm like,
"Pat, you're about to get killed."
'Cause I ain't ever seen him get 7'2".
[chuckles] You know what I'm saying? 350.
- The funniest part of the whole thing--
and it wasn't funny-- but it was Alonzo got up
and got between the both of us.
And he put his arms in there and he said,
"Shaq, don't do it." [chuckles]
I don't know-- "Don't do it."
- We eventually got him to calm down.
And that was it.
That was pretty much it of, uh--of that run.
That kind of ended it.
[game trills]
- On our way home from that practice,
there was a U-Haul place around the corner
from, uh, where Shaq lived on Star Island.
And when we passed that U-Haul place,
I told Shaq, "Shaq..."
"I ain't sure... but I got this feeling
"the next time you come past U-Haul
you need to get you some boxes."
- So I went to go get a MRI
'cause, remember, I was hurtin'.
Even the doctors were on it. They did me so smooth.
So I'm in the MRI.
And in the MRI machine, you gotta be still.
I'm asleep so I know I'm still.
So when I get out, I see the doctor on the phone.
And then he says, "Oh, you gotta go back under
'cause it wasn't done yet."
So now I gotta go back in another hour and a half.
And I'm sittin'... [mimicking MRI rumbling]
Listening to this thing.
And then when I come out, my phone blowin' up.
My wife. "Baby, you just been traded."
I'm like, "What?"
- ♪ They seek answers ♪
- We were going to play somewhere,
about to head on the road.
And I'm sitting on the plane, I got a call.
From Shaq.
He was like, "I just been traded."
I'm like, "What?" [chuckles]
And that was it.
He ended up getting traded
because he stepped up as a leader...
[chuckles]
And did what he felt that he needed to do.
Defending his teammate saying, "Enough is enough."
- Now, after he found out he'd gotten traded,
he wanted to go back to the facility,
but they wouldn't-- they wouldn't let him in.
[laughs]
They knew his intentions wasn't well.
They didn't let him in.
- And I was gonna go down there and put hands on that man.
I really was.
2007, things start to change.
- Bye, Daddy. - Bye, Daddy Bighead.
- Bye, Shaqir. - Bye, Daddy Bighead. Boo-boo.
- Bighead boo-boo? - Yeah.
- Me?
That's you that's Bighead boo-boo.
Going through a divorce. Things not going well.
It's actually two women who forgive me
for being a dumb, idiotic brat.
Arnetta was one that I've always had a crush on
in high school but never talked to her.
Finally, when I'm about to get drafted,
now I'm confident.
I got some money.
I got the chains. I get to talk to her.
We start dating.
We love each other.
She gives me my first bundle of joy, Taahirah.
Now, through all of this, I'm still doing dumb stuff.
Then I meet the other...
greatest person in my life, Shaunie.
I knew she was gonna be my wife.
And I knew she was gonna have all of my other children.
But just being a dumbass, rich, spoiled man,
of course, I messed it up.
I wasn't programmed to have a relationship.
And then when you move to LA? Times ten.
Then when you go LA back to Miami, times 20.
Everything that-- that was done,
everything that was bad that happened,
it was all because of me.
- When you're on the road
and you're not really connected
with what's going on in the household,
it's hard.
I would speak to him on the phone
maybe once a week and see him in person
once a month if I was lucky.
I didn't really get to hang out with him a lot.
I-I felt like I didn't know him for a long time
as a father who protects and provides.
But it was just an issue with, you know, his presence.
I didn't feel like he was the most present sometimes.
- We were in Miami,
and my mom said that they were getting a divorce.
And her--she was crying and Reef was crying.
- We all moved and left with my mom.
There was times where I didn't know
if I was supposed to talk to him
'cause I didn't want to make my mom mad
or I didn't want, like, him to feel
like we were abandoning him.
- All the cryin' and all the tears--
I've never been shot or stabbed,
but it felt like that.
Now, when you lose the privilege
of having that joy,
now you have to deal with being condemned with nothing.
You walk in the room where the kids used to play,
there's nothing.
You go in a room and you look at their closet,
all their clothes are gone.
Everything's gone.
Having them at that house
was the peace that kept me sane.
And, luckily, I was still playing,
I could have some solace,
but that's not a good feeling.
[clicking]
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
- And now, for the Western Conference,
a 15-time All-Star, center, and one of the most dominant
players in the history of the NBA,
the Big Cactus himself, Shaquille O'Neal.
♪ ♪
- Left Miami, get to Phoenix. I was Shaq...
- To Shaq. Look out below.
- But I wasn't Shaq.
The knees and the hips.
I didn't even have the adrenaline to play.
- Shaq against Kevin Garnett.
Spins on him. Goes baseline.
Reverse it up. No good. - And then it wasn't my team.
It's Stephen Nash's team and Amare Stoudemire's team.
- Can Shaq catch up?
Look out, he's going into the crowd.
[chuckles]
- But when I'd look at the stat sheet
and see nine and ten points,
I felt like I was robbing people.
[clicking]
- Yeah, it's really a sad moment
because you're gonna get to a point in your career
where you're gonna get too old and the game is gonna change.
And it's gonna get too fast and you can't keep up.
- In your mind, you still feel like you can do it.
But you can't put tread back on the tires.
- Like, when you missin' layups
or you doin' certain things
that you could do in your sleep,
it's weird.
It's a weird feeling.
Because it's not nothing
that you've ever experienced before.
Then at one point, Father Time be like, "Okay."
Tap you on that shoulder.
He comin'.
- When your time is up, your time is up.
Boston already had their big three.
I was just gonna be another guy comin' up the bench.
And I knew I was gonna have a career-ending injury.
I knew it.
- Shaquille O'Neal hobbles
towards the locker room.
- The day I busted my Achilles, I shot it up.
I confess.
And it felt really good.
You know, I was five for five that game.
You go back and look, I'm up and under
and then falling,
and then boom, it just popped.
- Here is Shaquille O'Neal
leaving the building just a short time ago...
- As soon as I had the career-ending injury,
it was a little bit of relief.
My body couldn't do it anymore.
My mind was startin' to say,
"You can't the Shaq that you used to be,
so might as well do something else."
So when I got hurt, I was like, "Thank you."
- This is a--a bittersweet day for our family.
It's been 19 years.
And the 19 years have gone by so quick,
but when you talk to your children,
tell them about having a plan B and C and also D,
so that life goes on
and there is life after basketball.
[cheers and applause]
- Never thought this day would come.
And, uh, Father Time has finally caught up
with Shaquille O'Neal.
I would like to thank my mother and father
for their support and guidance.
I would like to especially thank my father
because without him I wouldn't be here today.
It was him who met a young lady who had a boy.
He took us in. He taught me the game.
He taught me how to play the game.
He taught me how to dominate the game.
So I just want to say from a son to a father,
thank you very much. I love you too.
At the press conference at the house,
announced my retirement.
And I will miss you.
But I do plan on entertaining you
for the next 19 years
whether it's TNT, ESPN, CNN-- whoever wants to hire me,
uh, my offices open up on Monday.
Give me a call. [laughter]
[upbeat music]
Lady comes in. "We work for Turner.
We want you to work for TNT."
So I said, "Well, here's my agent over here."
- We have a meeting with the powers that be at Turner.
And then a sit with the powers that be at ESPN.
David Levy and Steve Koonin walk in from Turner.
- Incredibly exciting.
- As the number one show in basketball,
we win a lot of Emmys.
- They said, "We don't need you but we want you."
- John Skipper from ESPN walks in.
- We like competition. It's fun.
- "You know, look, we're ABC. We're Disney.
"I can put the show in Orlando.
"I know that you have a house there.
"I could put it in LA.
"I know that you have a house there.
"So we'll build a show around you.
I'm number one in every show except basketball."
- "We need you. We need you."
- Oh, my gosh, this is gonna be a great day.
And I look down the table at Shaquille...
- Aristotle?
- The Black Friedrich Nietzsche over here.
- Said, "All right. Give me your thoughts."
- My worst day at Turner would be a good day.
My worst day at ESPN would cause me to get fired.
Oh. - We'll go with Turner.
They're relationship people. It's only gonna get better.
That's special to be able to see that in that room--
to not be focused on the dollars
but to be focused on the long-term relationship--
- "We've been there 11 years. We've got nine Emmys."
If we're like all these other people
who do sports shows, that's criticism.
I--we not criticizin'. We tellin' you,
"You could be great.
You ain't playin' hard enough."
I'm not sayin' it's 'cause of me,
but we have fun.
- You want to get slapped on national television?
- [laughs]
- Let me get it. - You mean, like this?
[both chuckle]
I've always had stuff to fall back on.
And I've always done it my way.
- Funny guy.
- Are you not entertained?
- Loves life.
- Got him. - Big heart.
I didn't know that in my lifetime
he'd be on every commercial I've ever seen.
- Look at me.
Reebok, Google, Icy Hot, 24 Hour Fitness, Pepsi,
Dunkman, Epson printers, ring doorbells.
- The General. - Tonka, JCPenney, PointsBet,
Novex, alkaline water.
- Papa John's pizza, Krispy Kreme donuts,
Gold Bond.
- The list goes on and on and on and on.
- Image.
Image.
Dr. Lucille O'Neal said, "Image is reality."
I'm not gonna sell you something
that I don't truly believe in.
I do investments, endorsements,
and partnerships.
And, like, if I really, really believe in a company,
I'll say, "Okay, I'll do an endorsement,
"but you don't have to pay me.
I want to be a partner in your company."
- O'Neal says that he's a lifelong fan
of Krispy Kream,
and besides being an owner,
he'll also serve as the company's
global spokesperson.
- The value proposition of everything we do is critical.
That's what we're looking at with all of our partners.
Is this affordable? Is it approachable?
And if it's not,
it's not something that would be true for him.
When you're talking about a brand
the size of Shaquille,
the most important thing
is to make sure that we're being authentic
to who Shaquille is.
You have to let Shaquille be Shaquille
and the magic will come.
- This is stuff that I really use.
Man, my back hurt. Icy Hot.
I'm thirsty. Alkaline88.
It's breakfast time. Frosted Flakes.
Man, I'm about to go work out. Reebok.
My thing when I'm talking to directors,
I always tell them,
"Just shoot the money, brother."
I'm a funny motherfucker.
I like making people laugh. That's what I do.
So me looking at you, saying something,
doing something real quick on point,
making you laugh, making you feel good,
I am the master of that.
- At the end of the day, we're in the fun business.
That's who Shaquille is. He's in the fun business.
- He could choose daily to be a different person.
But he doesn't. He chooses to just be fun.
And he is magic 'cause he wants to perform.
- When Shaquille stopped playing basketball,
I thought, you know, I'd have a vacation.
I was sadly mistaken.
We are busier than we've ever been.
- He was the first athlete that I worked with
that actually had their own brand
as opposed to being an endorser.
He had already sold
hundreds of millions of pairs of shoes,
so he was revolutionary.
And when we partnered with Authentic Brands,
we entered into an amazing addition to his business.
- You can't open your eye, turn on the TV,
turn on social media and not see him.
- He was the first verified athlete on Twitter.
- I was doing social media
before social media was invented.
Athletes that are, you know, turning into investors...
- Right. -I've never looked
at myself like that. I've always been
a business man who was athletic.
- Shaq showed them that that was possible.
Magic showed Shaq that that was possible.
- There was too many stories
of guys coming into the NBA being millionaires
and then going out broke.
It was important for me to share
my knowledge and experience with the younger guys.
Especially a guy like Shaq who would listen
and then apply.
- I learned from the great Magic Johnson
you want to start investing in businesses.
- He got it. - I invested in Vitamin Water.
- He listened. - I'm on the board
of Papa John's. - He applied it.
- I met with the CEO of Walmart.
I said, "Look, I want to be the number one shoe seller
of Walmart."
- And now that's why he's probably even more successful
in business than he was on the basketball court.
- He was the face of the league.
For an era, the league was fun 'cause he set the tone.
- His main message to me was, "Whatever you're gonna do
"in the future with your brands,
"make sure it's your voice. Make sure it's you.
"If it's you, if it's your voice,
then people will receive it."
- You don't look at today's athlete and go,
"Well, why does LeBron have a production company,"
or "Why is Steph Curry making products?"
That's expected because Shaq knocked down doors
to present an example of how to run a career
and to brand yourself beyond the game.
[static whines]
- Spend some time with Shaquille O'Neal
and you'll find that he hasn't gotten
carried away with his lofty early season numbers--
about 23 points, 15 boards, three blocks a game--
though the rest of the league has.
And I caught up with Shaq on the road in LA yesterday
for a little one-on-one
with the guy who has given NBA foes fits
in his first year.
Your dad has been very influential.
He was the guy who really wanted you
to stay at LSU for another year.
What kind of influence is he now that, uh--
that you're in the bigs?
- Well, every time he sees me, he smiles, gives me a hug,
and says, "I'm proud of you.
"Not because you made it to the league,
but because when you were younger, you listened."
- Welcoming Shaquille O'Neal
to the Hall of Fame are Julius Erving,
Alonzo Mourning, Bill Russell, and Isaiah Thomas.
Ladies and gentlemen, Shaquille O'Neal.
- I think if I wouldn't have listened to him,
I wouldn't be here right now.
So I'd like to start by saying thank you
to those who first believed in me.
- Did, uh, Shaquille give you
any trouble growing up?
- Yes, he did.
- How'd you handle it?
- Talked to him.
- My father, Sergeant Phillip Harrison,
was a disciplinarian.
He was firm but fair.
He was my first exposure
on how an effective leader operated.
And when I didn't listen, I was introduced
to his alter ego, affectionately known
as The Belt.
I didn't want to do the Hall of Fame speech
without my main man there.
But I know if I would have cried when he was there,
he would have given me that face like,
"Straighten your face, soldier."
My father couldn't be here with us tonight,
but I left a seat empty for him.
And, uh, I know he's--he's watching.
- When he started to get sick,
he wouldn't tell us nothing.
We didn't know.
He went through prostate cancer,
we didn't even know.
We didn't know until he finished everything,
remission and all that.
So August 2013, we were having a little birthday party.
He couldn't breathe.
So we had to call 911.
And he went to the hospital
and he--he never came home after that.
It was just crushing to the whole family.
I could tell Shaquille--
I never seen him cry like that before.
- Phil was stable. He was strong.
And now that Phil is gone, Shaquille has held onto
everything that Phil has taught him.
Phil took him from being that young boy
and helped him to be the man that he is today.
- Overall, I've done my best
to be a good role model to the youth
and to those who would look up to me.
My message to the youth has always been the same.
Never give up, work hard, and continue to learn.
At the age of ten, my father said,
"Son, if you listen to me..."
Told me this day would happen.
And hopefully when a father's quizzin' his son
on great big men of the game,
hopefully Shaquille O'Neal's name will be in the answer.
Thank you very much for attending
tonight's ceremony. [applause]
[clears throat]
- All right? I love you, boy. I love you.
- My father said something very profound to me one day.
"If there has to be discussion,
that mean you ain't as good as you think you are."
Like, if you don't think I'm the greatest big man ever,
don't say my name.
If you don't think I'm one of the most dominant big men,
don't say my name.
And that's the mentality I had.
And that's what I had to have because I'm trying to get
where Jerry West said I can get.
And I want to be the most dominant ever.
- What blesses us and our family
is that Shaquille is on that wall.
All I can say is, "God, thank you."
And I say that every time I think
about where he was and where he is now.
I just say, "God, thank you."
- Sergeant Harrison passes away.
And my mother says, "I want you to get to know
your biological father."
I call him and I say, "Hey, man, I need to see you."
And I take him and I buy him a little car.
I said, "Look, man, I don't come in town a lot.
"Mama said I should come see you.
"First of all, I ain't mad at you.
"I don't--I don't hate you. Forget all that. We good.
"I'm grown. You grown.
"Let's just, you know,
develop a relationship from here on out."
You know, when-when I was young
I was mad, but then when you become a man
and-and do certain dumb similar things,
who am I to judge you?
Because in real life
when you're dealing with real people...
She told me that.
[indistinct chatter]
- Yes, yes, it's fine. Okay.
Okay. So 1:00 it is.
I gotta ask. Okay.
- You know I don't go to bed till 5:00,
so I'm not get-- I can't get up early.
- Why is that? Just can't do it?
- It's called... - How your body works?
- No man, ever since Kobe and my sister died,
I can't sleep.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Wow. - I just--I can't.
- When you lose somebody, it's just a void there.
I don't care what anybody say.
You--you missing something.
Because you know why?
Things happen where we have no control over them.
And I remember when my daughter passed away
how Shaquille said, "I have all this money
but I can't buy her health."
You can't do anything. You feel so helpless.
- Like, I knew she had cancer,
but nobody mentioned she had terminal cancer.
I would never have imagined
my baby sister going before me.
And she was perfect.
So when she passed away, it just put me
in a sadly state of,
"I should have went to see her."
I could have at least took her to London or Paris.
I didn't get to do any of that, and now she's gone.
And then I'm in this very gym.
My son comes in crying,
and he showed me the phone when Kobe passed away.
And I was like, "Bro, this is bullshit."
And then the calls start comin' in.
- Pretty sad news to tell the sports world.
"The LA Times" is reporting that retired
Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant
has been killed in a helicopter crash.
It happened this morning.
- It's hard to move on.
'Cause with Kobe, on the phone, you see highlights every day.
So if I see a highlight of Kobe,
I'm done for the day.
And I should have reached out to him.
I should have called him.
I should have seen how he was doing.
So those two things will haunt me forever.
- I can see the hurt in him.
I tell him, "Let your feelings out.
"Let it all out. If you angry, let that out.
"If you happy, let that out. If you sad, let that out.
Just let it go. Let it rip. You want to cry, cry."
Sometimes you don't have to say a whole lot, you just be.
He is being the man that he is.
- From 13 to 39, this is all I know.
[cheers and applause]
And then when I had to retire,
I heard nothing but silence.
I needed something.
I'm not playin' around.
- I need to see your flags. - Put your God damn hands up.
DJing is the drug that replaces the adrenaline
I used to get when I used to play.
Put 'em up!
I get it back, finally.
After all these years, I finally get that...
[electronic dance music]
If I get one hour of this... [mimics crowd noise]
That lasts me for a month.
♪ ♪
Because one thing I know how to do
is control a crowd.
- Let's go now! - Can you dig it?
It's the closest thing to a championship parade.
Can you dig it?
You know, people always say,
"What do you want your legacy to be?"
I want people to say,
"Shaquille O'Neal was a nice guy."
I don't care about the championships.
I don't care about the business deals.
I don't care about how much money he got.
Was he a nice guy when you met him?
Did he take a picture with your kid?
That's all I want people to say.
That's all that matters to me.
So my mission in life now
is to just brighten up people's day.
I was watching the Deon Cole comedy special.
And he said, "Where are all the 40-year-olds at?"
And the crowd goes crazy.
[mimics crowd noise]
Then he says, "There's only 20 summers left."
And I'm like, "I'ma be 50.
So 20 summers for me will be 70."
And it was a true statement.
So ever since I heard that,
I've been like, "Hey, buddy, you're getting old."
But I try to stay young here.
I try to do young things.
I don't really see myself changing
no matter how successful I get or how low I get.
I will always be like this.
From this day on, I would like to be known
as the Big Aristotle... [laughter]
Because it was Aristotle who said,
"Excellence is not a singular act but a habit.
You are what you repeatedly do."
Take you back.
13 years old. 6'9". Can't play.
All you hear is,
"You're 6'9" and you can't dunk?
Man, you might as well give it up."
All you hear is, "I don't know
"why this motherfucker keeps playing.
He'll never--" That's all you hear.
And then you got a guy, Ford McMurtry,
a young coach who says,
"I'm starting a team. I'm picking you."
"Yeah, you. Come on." And he believed.
Mm.
So now when you start lookin' in the stands
and they're cheering
and they're wearing your jersey,
I'm like, "Oh, my God. I--I really am the man."
And then it's, "I'm the man." "No, you're not. You lose."
Ugh. "I'm the man." "No, you're not. You lose."
[grunts] "I'm the man."
"No, you're not. You lose." Aah!
And then you win and you get a big, kingly feast.
[vocalizing]
I'ma do this again.
"I'm the man." Aah!
I'ma do it again. I'm the man.
Aah! And then you lose again.
Now you gotta go back to the bottom.
"Nah, I still got it."
The purest form and the best form of basketball
is reaching the pinnacle of greatness
even before you know you're great.
'Cause you never forget.
I don't forget the people that opened the door for me.
I don't forget the people
that gave me the answers to the test.
I don't forget the people
that helped me become who I am today.
'Cause once you forget,
you're deviating from the program.
Bad things will happen to you.
I can remember walking around. "How old are you?"
"I'm 17." "You're 17?"
And then 28, having a baby.
30 and marriage and kids and--you know.
Now it's older.
I'ma check myself into an old folks' home.
Hopefully I can purchase the old folks' home,
get me a house or a condo or whatever
and rent out the whole top floor.
Hookah room, bedroom, videotape room.
That'd be good enough for me.
You know, I don't want my kids to feel
that I have to live with them.
Nah. Put me in an old folks' home
and let me just slide on out.
- There's one other look we're gonna have.
You guys just pull this little lever--
- Oh, my God.
- Yup. We'll do that.
- Shit. [laughter]
[shouts]
Uh, what time is it?
- Yes, it's probably around 6:30--6:14.
- Oh, so you had me here fucking three hours
smilin' and shit? [laughter]
That'll fuck up my date night.
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