When Shaquille O’Neal was a child, his stepfather, the late Sgt. Phillip Harrison, would quiz him on the greatest centers in NBA history — from Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
With his own legacy as one of the best to play the game firmly established, O’Neal received the top honor that the Lakers have to give, as a bronze statue of him was unveiled at Staples Center on Friday.
And one of those legends that he grew up admiring was there to toast O’Neal’s latest accolade.
“When I look up at that statue, I will see the kind of talented, passionate and generous man that we’ve been building statues to for 30,000 years,” Abdul-Jabbar said.