Shaquille O’Neal Blasted a Sacramento Kings Fan After He Destroyed a Prized Piece of NBA History

Hall of Fame big man Shaquille O’Neal accomplished numerous memorable feats in his illustrious NBA career. O’Neal surpassed several historic individual marks that etched his place in league history. Among those was reaching 20,000 career points, which became a moment ruined by a young Sacramento Kings fan.

A Kings fan defaces Shaquille O’Neal’s 20,000 career-point game ball

O’Neal experienced much success against the Kings throughout his eight-year tenure with the Lakers.

The Hall of Fame big man repeatedly crushed Sacramento‘s championship hopes while reaching the mountaintop three straight times to begin the 2000s. O’Neal also accomplished an impressive individual career mark against them by surpassing the 20,000 career-point mark in March 2003, becoming only the 28th player in NBA history to reach the feat.

However, a young Kings fan put a damper on the moment by defacing the game ball. Season-ticket holder Greg Rogers explained to the Sacramento Bee how the entire incident unfolded.

“It was a timeout in the fourth quarter, and the referee put the ball down,” he said to Sacramento Bee via 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.”

Then Kings owner Joe Maloof offered O’Neal an immediate apology on behalf of the organiztion.

“I hope Shaq accepts our apology,” Maloof said. “because that guy could take me and dunk me.”

It didn’t take long for the Lakers star big man to issue a firm response.

Shaquille O’Neal blasted a Sacramento Kings fan after he destroyed a prized piece of NBA history

As expected, O’Neal wasn’t too enthralled by the young fan’s actions.

The star big man voiced hopefulness that the Maloof family, who owned the Kings, didn’t condone that action and held only disappointment regarding the situation. Sacramento officials stated they would track down the individual responsible, but O’Neal said he didn’t want to keep the ball.

“Send it to Mr. Stern,” O’Neal said via The LA Times. “He can see what goes on in certain arenas. I don’t want it. I’ll just get another ball and write something on it. I thought about it last night. I couldn’t really sleep last night I was so [upset].”

O’Neal took the high road, but the young Kings fan certainly ruined the moment. Although he added numerous career-defining achievements to his resume, it was one moment that he didn’t get to enjoy entirely.

He did get to have the experience he wanted after he reached 25,000 career points with the Miami Heat in February 2007, making him the 14th player to reach that milestone.

Shaq purchased and sold his Kings’ minor ownership stake

Like many of his peers, O’Neal isn’t forgetful of those disappointing moments.

However, it wasn’t enough to dissuade him from purchasing a minor stake in the Kings in 2013 that he held until being forced to sell it earlier this month due to a conflict of interest from one of his new business ventures.

“As a result of a new business endeavor, I was required by NBA rules to sell my interest in the Sacramento Kings. I want to thank the fans, the city of Sacramento, Vivek Ranadive and the entire Kings organization for our great partnership. I loved being an owner of such a forward thinking organization and I hope to be back someday,” O’Neal tweeted.

O’Neal may not have had his special moment with his 20,000 career point basketball, but he has had many other reasons to celebrate.

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RELATED: Shaquille O’Neal Once Pulled up to an Ohio Gym Just to Watch a Teenage LeBron James, and He Says He Instantly Understood the Hype: ‘He Can Go Pro Right Now’

The post Shaquille O’Neal Blasted a Sacramento Kings Fan After He Destroyed a Prized Piece of NBA History appeared first on Sportscasting | Pure Sports.

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By: Bob Garcia IV
Title: Shaquille O’Neal Blasted a Sacramento Kings Fan After He Destroyed a Prized Piece of NBA History
Sourced From: www.sportscasting.com/shaquille-oneal-blasted-sacramento-kings-fan-destroyed-prized-piece-nba-history/
Published Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2022 13:15:00 +0000

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