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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Charles Curtis

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaq had an absolutely touching moment putting any apparent beef to rest

If there was any beef between NBA legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal — real, perceived, anywhere in between — it’s gone now.

After LeBron James broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most points in a career, the center got on TNT to speak with the Inside the NBA crew and had a specific message for O’Neal: Abdul-Jabbar mentioned that Shaq felt that the legend was “ashamed of you or ignoring you,” and that wasn’t the case.

“I’m on your side Shaq,” he added. “Don’t ever let anybody tell you anything different.”

And O’Neal took it well: “Listen, you not speaking to me was the best thing that happened to my career because all I ever wanted to do was impress you, sir.”

Beef, buried.

Shaq went on to explain what this was all about: He thought the center didn’t like him and took some criticism from Abdul-Jabbar as motivation before the legend pulled him aside and said he loved Shaq.

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