While the Hall of Fame big man Shaquille O’Neal might not have been the only player to use them, the antics that made the former Boston Celtics big man famous were revolutionary at the time that the Big Aristotle came into the league.
Asked about why he was okay with being such a massive goofball on and off the basketball court in a 2016 interview with ESPN’s J.A. Adande, Shaq replied “Marketing,” Now, many years later, O’Neal is seen as one of pro sports’ greatest businessmen, so he may have been ahead of his time. “For one, it was to prove to my college professor that big guys could sell,” the big man elaborated.
“And two, they were giving that money away, right and left,” he continued.
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“And three, it was an opportunity for me, a young guy from the projects, a medium-level juvenile delinquent, to be on TV,” said Shaq. “It’s a great feeling, to have your momma at the crib, seeing you on a commercial.”
“Forget the game, but just seeing you in a commercial or a video … that’s why I did it.”
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