The Los Angles Lakers held their "Lakers All-Access" event on Monday night, in which current players like D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Roy Hibbert, as well as president Jeanie Buss spoke to the media and fans about the current state of the team. Hibbert shared how he continues to try and keep the team engaged and playing together using off the court bonding, while Russell explained that he isn't afraid of elite point guards like Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook because "they've got to guard me too."
Despite all of those headliners, the real star of the night was the man who Buss credited for building Staples Center, four-time NBA champion (three of which came with the Lakers), former regular season MVP, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and future Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq spent part of the evening praising the Lakers organization and fondly reminiscing on his time there, even going as far as to say he wished he could have finished his career in the purple and gold:
Shaq: I love Jeanie. I love this organization. I love this city. I love this building."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 26, 2016
Shaq on his time with the Lakers: "I wish it could've played out where I played here forever, but business is business."
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) January 26, 2016
Shaq on his former boss: "Jerry Buss is a genius. Whatever he saw, it always came to fruition." Even when Buss traded him?. Even then.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) January 26, 2016
Additionally, O'Neal, who is never a dull quote, then spent the rest of the night in top form. Here are a few of his best lines of the evening:
Billy Mac praises Shaq for his acting in Scary Movie 4. Shaq: "I've come a long way since Kazaam."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 26, 2016
Shaq on his years at LSU: "Yes, they paid very well." Then he added, "Hey, the statute of limitations is up." He was laughing.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) January 26, 2016
Shaq: "The way Kobe & I handled the situation, I would've probably done it the exact same way." (cites winning 3 out of 4)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 26, 2016
More Shaq on Kobe: "3 out of 4 is not working out? It's pretty good to me, we just had to find certain ways to push each other."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 26, 2016
You can never say Shaq is not colorful. Shaq: "I wanted to kill Mutombo. African BBQ chicken. There was not a lot of meat on that chicken."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 26, 2016
Shaq on the center position in the NBA: "I think I killed them [all] off."
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) January 26, 2016
Shaq on his 61-point birthday game, said a lot of people don't know his added motivation that night: Kareem on the opposite bench.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 26, 2016
Shaq on Kenny Smith: "Kenny's a nerd. He's one of those guys that tries to use big words and doesn't know what they mean."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 26, 2016
Shaq on what Charles Barkley is like. Shaq: "Fat as hell. I saw him w/out a shirt on today and I said, 'You have some nice boobies.'"
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 26, 2016
Shaq says his favorite Lakers player is D'Angelo Russell. But Shaq actually meant Julius Randle. Shaq: "I'm old. I have Shaqheimers."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 26, 2016
Shaq: "Problem living in this city (Los Angeles) is you guys are spoiled...used to winning all the time...it's definitely going to take time."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 26, 2016
Shaq wants his son to play @ LSU: "You can probably get a house, you can get 2 cars. I'll set it up for you. I know some people down there."
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) January 26, 2016
Shaq on acting: "I don't want to play an actress. That's DeAndre Jordan's job...He had some nice boobies in that commercial."
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) January 26, 2016
Shaq jokes to a woman in attendance: "Once you go Shaq, you never go back."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 26, 2016
When Shaq's next rap album? "1990-never...No more music for me."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 26, 2016
Shaq made multiple beat writers type out and tweet the word "boobies" multiple times. What a time to be alive.
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