A candid conversation with Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning
With all the buzz surrounding the 2017 NBA Draft, countless players, pundits and LaVar Ball were all weighing in on what would happen on Thursday night. I was fortunate enough to hear the opinions of two NBA greats live this week in New York City. On Tuesday night, American Express hosted “American Express Teamed Up with Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning.”
An exclusive event for card holders, the hour-long discussion was moderated by the reigning queen of the NBA, Doris Burke. Together, the trio covered everything from Shaq and Mourning’s rivalry turned friendship to their NBA Draft day experiences to Mourning admitting that he does spin classes and eats hummus. It was a magical hour and I will do my best to recap all the highlights for you.
Let’s break it down.
The Shaq and Mourning rivalry
You may not recall but Shaq and Mourning were the first and second picks in the 1992 NBA Draft. I actually did not recall because, well, I was 1-years-old but boy do I regret not paying attention. Mourning was a seasoned senior coming out of Georgetown, Shaq was a junior phenom from LSU. Both wanted to be the next Patrick Ewing (Shaq admitted to trying to wear knee pads for that reason alone) and they both wanted to be the No. 1 pick. There was another decent college player who was graduating that year, too. His name was Christian Laettner. He ended up going No. 3 in the draft.
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Not really sure what went wrong after that.
Anyway, Shaq and Mourning apparently did not speak to each other for the first six or seven years of their NBA careers. Their rivalry was THAT intense. Shaq said their competition even continued off the court and in the club. It sounds like a lot of stank eyes were exchanged.
A friendship heats up
So obviously, Shaq and Mourning started speaking to each other at some point. That speaking likely began as trash talk and eventually evolved into a form of communication with less expletives. The two became teammates late in their careers when Mourning joined the Heat in 2005. Shaq recalled how he often had to tell his new teammate to stop practicing so hard because he was making the rest of them look bad. Mourning’s response? “I go hard all the time.”
I guess going hard worked because the Heat went on to win the NBA championship the following season in 2006. Since their time in Miami, Mourning and Shaq have remained close friends so much so that Shaq asked Mourning to be at his side for his Hall of Fame induction. Mourning apparently answered him with another great one liner: “I didn’t know you liked me like that.”
Full Doris Disclosure: Maybe I missed the fine print BUT I had no idea Doris Burke was going to be moderator of this event. Seriously, thank you, Amex. What a treat. She looked great, she sounded great and she wore shiny heels which Shaq called fabulous. Doris, I now get why Drake wants to date you.
The 2017 NBA Finals
Doris wouldn’t have been Doris if she didn’t ask these guys about the 2017 NBA Finals. Both Shaq and Mourning agreed that the addition of Kevin Durant made the Warriors a super team. Then crazier statements were made. Shaq said if Kyle Korver made more 3s, it would have been a different series. Personally, that feels like a lot to put on Korver. Mourning called Golden State a dynasty already, which caused a huge rift between Shaq and Doris. Last but not least, Shaq said that his Lakers squad would beat Golden State. “If I get the ball and Draymond Green is guarding me, get out the way… BBQ chicken all day.” I am not sure what he meant by that but I do know that Green should be nervous…or hungry…or both.
The 2017 NBA Draft
The topic of the draft came up several times throughout the hour-long discussion. Both guys shared their draft experiences and talked about the importance of enjoying the moment. Doris asked them if they thought this draft class would live up to the hype. Shaq said no, Mourning said yes (probably because he is secretly in on the “Zo2” Ball shoe deal).
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Mourning sounded like a 76ers fans, emphasizing that these young guys need to “trust the process, put the work in and be patient.” Shaq also offered some advice for the draftees: “Work on your craft. Work on yourself. Better yourself. Save your money. Make them remember your name.” Shaq’s mom used to tell him, “Make them remember the name Shaquille O’Neal.” Welp, mission accomplished, Lucille. Let’s see whose name we will remember from this class.