The Los Angeles Lakers announced on Wednesday night that they will unveil a statue of Shaquille O'Neal outside of Staples Center during the 2016-17 season. The announcement was widely expected to happen at some point, but its still a cool honor for one of the most legendary players in the franchise's history. O'Neal helped deliver three titles to Los Angeles while forming arguably the most dominant two-man tandem in NBA history with Kobe Bryant.
"We look forward to having Shaq join the other legends who have been honored with statues at STAPLES Center," Lakers president Jeanie Buss said in a statement announcing the honor. "He is a giant not only in size, but also in stature and in what he accomplished as a Laker. Shaq literally broke the ground for the site, and was hugely responsible for not only getting STAPLES Center built, but for making it one of the most successful and famous arenas in the world. It's an honor that is well deserved."
While "well deserved," the news was still a surprise to the "quotatious" big man himself, who found out about the statue on camera during an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." His reaction was pretty awesome:
Jimmy Kimmel surprises Shaq with his new statue from the #Lakers. pic.twitter.com/Z0vmhUuPiZ
— rob (@R0BaTO) January 28, 2016
Jimmy Kimmel surprises Shaq with his new statue part 2. #Lakers pic.twitter.com/Gj0q8osLdK
— rob (@R0BaTO) January 28, 2016
Congratulations to Shaq from all of us at Silver Screen and Roll. A Hall of Fame induction can't be too far behind.
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