NBA - Shaq's savage take on former Lakers owner: « Stop hanging out with 20-year-olds ! »

Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t known for keeping his mouth shut, not even when it came to his bosses at the Lakers. The Big Diesel made a savage statement about former owner Jerry Buss, due to his acquaintances.

It wasn’t easy to earn a place among the greatest legends in Lakers history, especially as a center. George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: it’s safe to say that Shaquille O’Neal was following in the footsteps of some NBA giants when he signed with the Lakers in 1996. But the former Magic player achieved the feat of rising to the same level as them during his time in California.

Four championship titles, three Finals MVP awards and a regular season MVP: the early 2000s were marked by the Hall of Famer’s outrageous dominance in the purple and gold. Unfortunately, his departure in 2004 came under rather stormy circumstances. A Finals loss to the Pistons and tensions with Kobe Bryant were among the causes… but not the only ones.

When Shaq criticized Jerry Buss’s intimate relationships

Indeed, Shaq also had issues with his superiors, particularly the franchise’s former owner Jerry Buss, whose daughter took over. The big boss reportedly pushed the Los Angeles front office not to extend Big Diesel’s contract and instead trade him to the Heat. Not only that, but Buss later stated that this was what prompted the superstar to get back into shape.

These remarks did not escape the attention of the person concerned, and the Big Diesel obviously did not like what he heard. Questioned by the LA Times, he responded curtly:

I didn’t need motivation. I needed a real owner, like Mickey Arison (in Miami, editor’s note). Not a guy who parties with girls that are three times younger.

As a reminder, Buss was already over 70 years old at the time, but it was no secret that the Lakers owner liked to have a good time with girls much younger than him. Shaq wasn’t the only one close to the franchise to point this out, with former coach Jack McKinney explaining that the businessman rarely dated women over 25… and that he changed partners often.

A frankly dubious attitude in the eyes of the former center, and one that made his former superior look like a big hypocrite in his eyes, after having criticized him for his ethics. The Big Aristotle had thus buried him with a final message: