Lakers: Jimmy Kimmel Surprises Shaq with Statue Announcement (Video)

The Lakers are giving Shaq a statue outside STAPLES Center and he received the news as a surprise on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Shaquille O’Neal is unquestionably one of the greatest players in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers, bringing the team three consecutive NBA Championships alongside Kobe Bryant in the early 2000s. He also happened to do so while being one of the most dominant individual forces in the league.

Because of his contributions to the franchise, there’s no doubt that he’s deserving of being honored like one of the Lakers greats by the organization. They are planning to do so, in fact, as they have commissioned a statue of Shaq to go outside of STAPLES Center, as was announced on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday night.

The best part was, though, is that Shaq—Kimmel’s guest on the show—had no idea about what the Lakers were planning to do for him, thus allowing the late-night host to surprise the Big Diesel with the news:

Though it shouldn’t be surprising that Shaq was deemed worthy of getting a statue put outside of the Lakers’ home arena, the manner in which he was told about it is just fantastic. Even for a guy with a famous ego like Shaq, he’s still so obviously humbled, shocked, and ecstatic about the announcement that Kimmel gives him. Even better is the statue of him throwing down that monstrous dunk, which is one of his most iconic moments as a member of the organization.

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Congratulations, Shaq. Lakers fans will now patiently await your running mate from those three titles to get his statue right alongside yours.