Shaquille O’Neal was one of the most dominant players in NBA history. He showed his quality during an honored career, winning four total NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers (3) and the Miami Heat.
The Big Diesel never missed a chance to show his power on the court, humiliating rivals with big dunks. Besides, he wasn’t shy to shoot his shot, trying to get attention from women and aiming really high sometimes.
Being an NBA player, Shaq had clout that many dreamed about, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t get nervous in front of a beautiful woman. A couple of months ago, the former center revealed how nervous he was when he found out Halle Berry was in attendance for a Lakers game.
Talking on The Kelly Clarkson Show in September, the 49-year-old recalled the time when he was shocked by Berry’s beauty and tried to get protagonism to impress the Hollywood superstar.
“I wanted to give the superstars the same enjoyment that they gave me,” he said. “Like, when I walk into the game and I see Denzel [Washington] and Jack Nicholson, like, when I’m at home watching the Netflix, they give me so much enjoyment so I would always say, ‘OK, they’re here to watch me and Kobe [Bryant] win the championship, I gotta make sure I always play well.'”
Shaq said his favorite moment was when he was playing at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and he was shaken up when he spotted Berry coming down the stairs while he was at the free throw line.
“My heart started fluttering, I get nervous, I call a time out,” he recalled. “Coach said, ‘What are you doing?!’ I said, ‘Shut up, Halle Berry is here to watch me. Nobody shoots, make sure I get the ball.’ And guess what, I actually made the free throw. I made the free throw, I was looking at Halle like [winks].”
“So when I was young, I used to stutter,” he also shared. “She’s the only woman that makes my stuttering come back.”
Halle Berry is definitely one of the most gorgeous women out there. She’s very talented and is way more than a pretty face, which most men find intimidating. Shaq wasn’t the exception, but he tried to take advantage of having Berry sit courtside.
Shaq’s attraction for Berry goes way before he landed in Los Angeles. In his book, “Shaq Uncut,” O’Neal revealed he wrote a letter to the actress during his college days, and surprisingly got a response (S/O Bleacher Report).
“I remember being in the dorm room one night and we were watching the movie Jungle Fever with Halle Berry in it, and I thought she was so stunning, so I wrote her a letter. I was just kind of kidding around, telling her I was a big fan and I’d love to meet her sometime. The guys totally goofed on me for doing it, but I didn’t care. A few weeks later, no lie, Halle Berry wrote me back. She sent me a signed picture that I still have hanging in my office. Turns out she’s a basketball fan. She wrote, “I’m a big fan of yours, too. I can’t wait until you get to the NBA.”
Unfortunately for the big man, he never became a romantic partner with Berry. Halle recently made noise around the NBA community after an old video of her checking out Kobe Bryant went viral.
Meanwhile, Shaq hasn’t stopped shooting his shots with several women, including rapper Megan Thee Stallion. O’Neal keeps making headlines as an analyst now, but this has to be one of the best stories of his playing days.
