The NBA is honoring its 75th Anniversary Team at the All-Star Game tonight, with legends like Shaquille O’Neal in attendance.
As big of a name as Shaq is in the annals of NBA history, he made it clear in an emotional four-minute speech on TNT that just being among some all-time greats tonight that he grew up admiring had an incredible impact.
In his monologue, Shaq thanked, among others, his father, his college coach Dale Brown and NBA legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and David Robinson.
That’s just a fraction of what he touched on though. Seriously, the entire speech is worth a watch, and it’s no surprise that the NBA world is loving what Shaq had to say.
Must watch: Shaq’s emotional 4-minute speech on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/RwfynnERLa
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 21, 2022
The @TurnerSportsPR should put out that entire speech@SHAQ just delivered on TNT because that was raw, real and incredible.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) February 21, 2022
Shaq’s speech on NBA 75 was great TV.
— Robin Lundberg (@robinlundberg) February 21, 2022
That Shaq speech was really damn good
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) February 21, 2022
I hope TNT posts this entire speech somewhere. Ernie Johnson is right….that’s one of the best moments for Shaq on TNT mentioning so many legends that inspired him.
— Evan Barnes〽️ (@evan_b) February 21, 2022
Such a humbling speech by @shaq on TNT #NBAAllStar pregame. Loved it. Tremendous. Talked about getting pushed. Ode to @kobebryant , Doctor J.. Magic Give me more of this pic.twitter.com/fcHvHlUYM7
— .@JohnTelich8 (@JohnTelich8) February 21, 2022
Seriously, and it’s a shame it had to come well before the game itself with less viewers, but that Shaquille O’Neal speech is undoubtedly one of the major highlights of this entire weekend.
Heartfelt. Passionate. Just the best of Shaq.
— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) February 21, 2022
I watched this live — this was such a great job by @SHAQ. The NBA’s stealth advantage is how the stars from different generations intertwine, and how the new guys respect/revere the old guys + draw inspiration from them. It’s been the case since the 1980s. pic.twitter.com/uWhcDSGU1b
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) February 21, 2022
That was tremendous television. Props to the big man for wearing his heart on his sleeve for everyone to hear.
No doubt there were some guys on that 75th Anniversary Team felt the same way about him.
The post NBA World Reacts To Shaq’s Moving Speech Tonight appeared first on The Spun.