Podcast #84: Shaquille O'Neal on Germany, Rap, and Slam Dunks

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In 1992, as the number one NBA draft pick, Shaquille O'Neal was chosen by the Orlando Magic. He would be named Rookie of the Year during his first season, and eventually win three consecutive NBA titles with the LA Lakers. This week for the New York Public Library Podcast, we're proud to present Shaquille O'Neal discussing Germany, Rap, and Slam Dunks.

Known for his "drop step" dunk, which he refers to as the "Black Tornado," O'Neal holds the all-time third highest field goal percentage in the NBA. He describes dunking as akin to kung fu:

"I would compare to being a kung-fu master, and let me tell you why, cause like when I used to dunk and look at opponents, they used to be like and used to be real scared, so I used to get my knees up and try to kick them in the face, touch them in the face, excuse me. No, but, like, the opponents would be real, real scared, so I just kept dunking."

Besides his slam dunk stats, O'Neal may be remembered for his career as a rapper. He views his music as just one realization of an ethos his parents instilled in him:

"One of the things my parents told me was to follow your dreams. So you know as a youngster you have a lot of dreams. So when I was coming up, it was Fat Boys, Big Daddy Kane and LL Cool J, so I used to be sitting in the house and I’d see them and I’d be like, 'Man, I want to do that one day,' and I’d see Dr. J and you know Patrick Ewing and all those guys and I’d be like, 'Man, I want to do that one day.' Then I’d see Arnold Schwarzenegger and I’d say, 'Man, I want to do that one day.' So for me doing a rap album wasn’t about me being a rapper, it was about me continuing to follow my dreams. And get you know, getting a chance to rock out with my favorite artists, that’s what it was about. But Biggie was phenomenal. He was the only guy I seen who didn’t write his stuff down. Him and Jay Z."

As a young man, O'Neal lived briefly in West Germany. He remembers it as a time in which he honed his basketball technique:

"Wildflecken, West Germany. When I first went I hated my father for taking me out of the country but, you know, as I—and I’m probably going to mention him a lot, my mother and father a lot. But what that did was it taught me how to deal with all types of people. You take a guy from Newark, New Jersey, move him to Hinesville, Georgia, from Hinesville to Germany, from Germany to San Antonio, San Antonio to Louisiana, you learn to deal with all types of people. So I thank him for that. When I got to Germany I was able to focus on my craft. Because I lived on an army base, there wasn’t a lot of juvenile delinquent activities going on, because you mess around in Germany and the polizei get on your butt, it’s all over. So on the base, you know, you go to the gym, go to the store, go home, and when it snowed the snow was so high we missed school for weeks at a time."

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