Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most eccentric and interesting NBA legends of all time. The Big Diesel was incredibly dominant on the court, bullying rivals whenever he attacked the rim, but also one of the funniest people when he wasn’t trying to demoralize rival centers.
During his active days, he constantly amazed fans and fellow players with his fun actions. Back in 2005, before the All-Star Game, Shaq brought his epic shoe phone to the locker room. At the time, he was in the Miami Heat, defending the Eastern Conference colors in the game.
The big-size shoe phone made a lot of noise during the All-Star weekend, but it wasn’t until Allen Iverson answered it that many realized it actually worked. In an old video, the Big Diesel was recorded giving the cellphone to AI, who put it on his ear to listen to whoever Shaq was talking to.
At first, he was playing along, asking ‘what’ to the person on the other side of the phone. Then, he realized he was in an actual call, announcing that the phone indeed worked.
“Hello? Yep,” Iverson says before realizing. “What?… Oh, yo, it work for real, man.”
The concept of having a phone in your shoes didn’t make it to the big markets, but it was fun watching Shaq walking around with a huge shoe phone. AI was as shocked as everybody would have in that situation, while the rest of the locker room laughs at his revelation.
That 2005 All-Star Game saw the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 125-115, with Iverson scoring 15 points, while Shaq added 12. The Answer was named MVP of that game, getting another big call after the match was over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eddcbA0-52A
