SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Shaquille O’Neal was supposed to be ready for a call at noon from the folks in this city a little more than five months ago. But he was unavailable, it turned out. “I missed the 12 o’clock call,” O’Neal recalled. “So, I was thinking, ‘Oh, shit, does that mean I’m out?’”
Of course not. The call was from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and there was no way anyone was keeping O’Neal from there; he will be inducted on Friday night. The world knew O’Neal was a virtual sure-shot Hall of Famer going back to his college days at LSU from 1989-92, right through his 15 All-Star appearances, his three Finals MVP awards and his four championships.