In March 2003, Shaquille O’Neal reached the impressive milestone of 20,000 NBA career points, a rare achievement that only a few players ever reach. While the future Hall of Famer was certainly proud of this major moment, something unexpected tainted the celebration.
Usually, when a player reaches such a big milestone, they get the game ball as a special keepsake. That was the case for “Big Aristotle,” too, as he received the game ball; however, it was not the way he had hoped. The reason? Someone had written an insulting message on it.
Game ball prank
Back when “Big Diesel” made history as the then-28th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points, his team, the Lakers, were playing an away game against the Sacramento Kings.
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Not long before, these two franchises clashed in the memorable 2002 Western Conference Finals, where the Kings lost Game 6 under highly controversial circumstances. Some Sacramento fans hadn’t let it go — and it showed. During halftime of the aforementioned game, when it was announced that the Lakers’ superstar had hit the 20,000-point milestone, they started booing.
One fan took it a step further. In a bold move, he reportedly grabbed the game ball, which was meant to go to O’Neal after the contest, and wrote “Shaq is an a**hole” on it. Greg Rogers, a Kings season ticket holder at the time, saw it all happen and later shared the story.
“It was a timeout in the fourth quarter, and the referee put the ball down,” said Rogers, per ESPN. “There were two guys seated in the front row seats opposite the Kings’ bench. They were with a boy about nine or 10. One of the guys grabbed the ball and handed it to the boy. I was watching with my wife. I said, ‘Hey, that’s neat. I’ll bet that kid loves this.’ Then, one of the guys took out a pen and wrote on the ball. My wife and I saw it. A few seconds later, the kid tossed the ball back to the ref.”
A true lesson in payback
Despite adding another impressive achievement to his legendary NBA career, the one-time MVP was furious about what had happened after his team’s loss. The dominant big man, who had scored 28 points that night, turned his anger into a direct message aimed at the Kings’ owners at the time, Gavin and Joe Maloof.
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“I hope the Maloof family doesn’t condone this kind of action,” remarked the four-time champ per ESPN. “I will not hold the city of Sacramento responsible, but whoever did this shows no class. I’m not mad at all. I know the Maloofs allow a lot of stuff. If they do condone this, I’ll be very disappointed in that organization.”
O’Neal also wanted the then-league commissioner, the late David Stern, to understand what had happened. After refusing to take the defaced game ball, he suggested it should be sent to Stern so he can see what goes on in certain places.
Ultimately, the Kings supporter who sparked the controversy ended up harming their own team, as the taunt fueled Shaq’s fire for the next clash between the bitter rivals.
“This is one thing I won’t forget, and I’ll see you soon,” he said, and true to his word, on April 10, the NBA icon dominated the court when the Lakers faced off against the Kings once more.
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In what would later be known as a classic O’Neal performance, the three-time Finals MVP scored 32 points, making 14 of his 23 field-goal attempts, and grabbed 16 boards as the “Purple and Gold” won 117-104.