Draymond Green Reveals Shaquille O’Neal Is His Favorite Player Of All Time: “Growing Up, For Me, My Favorite Player Of All Time Is Shaq. The Dude Was Absolutely Insane.”

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Most NBA players grew up idolizing the stars of their childhood in one way or another. The superstars that have gone before have inspired millions of people across the world, including the children that have gone on to become the NBA stars of today. Kobe Bryant was famously inspired by Michael Jordan and he would go on to heavily influence Jayson Tatum, something that became apparent these playoffs

it doesn’t have to always be the greatest superstars that inspire kids, it’s about the right time for the fans themselves when they are likely to be most influenced. Most people know that Shaquille O’Neal was at the height of his career during his three-peat with the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 2000s. But Shaq was originally drafted by Orlando and at that time, one of his biggest fans was apparently none other than 4-time NBA champion Draymond Green. 

Draymond spoke about it on his podcast recently, talking about how he owned a lot of the merchandise from the days a young Shaq was tearing it up alongside Penny Hardaway for the Magic. 

“Shaq Diesel, who I said a million times, was growing up for me, like it was Shaq. Huge Shaq fan, had the zip up Orlando Magic onesie, my night light was Orlando Magic… the Magic jersey with the lines in it, him and Penny jerseys,” Green said, per The Volume.

Green is not as physically gifted as Shaq was, arguably no one has been since, so it’s impossible that he would have a similar game to the big man, but his confidence in himself, his his intensity on the court, and on a lighter note, his shooting, all resemble his favorite player growing up. 

There’s not a lot of people who would have picked Shaq to be Green’s favorite player if they had been asked about it without knowing the answer, but it’s no surprise that Superman caught Draymond’s fancy. Now that Green has as many rings as Shaq though, he has likely inspired more than a few people by himself as well. 

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Divij Kulkarni is an NBA columnist for Fadeaway World. He has covered the NBA and the English Premier League, with 4 years of experience in creating sports content. Finding exciting and intriguing content about all things NBA is both his job and his passion. Divij loves the Dallas Mavericks and can be regularly observed getting emotional during games. Outside of basketball, he enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, consuming copious amounts of movies and TV, and spending time with his dog, Olivia. Expertise: NBA, Historical Sports ResearchFavorite Team: Dallas MavericksFeatured On HoopsHype, Sports Illustrated, Secret Base, MSNPrevious Work: Tribuna
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