NBA coaching and playing legend Steve Kerr got fun clip of mid-career majordomo Shaquille O’Neal making one of his usual assured statements. O’Neal was a 3x NBA Finals MVP as his Lakers three-peated for the NBA title around the turn of the century. O’Neal has always admired Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson immensely and was so thrilled with the achievement he thought it could never be repeated.
Going to the Finals four out of five years? No way, thought Shaq. And Shaq’s assuredness — and his promise to back it up — was caught on video. He was so sure Shaq said if a coach did it, he’d kiss his feat on a reality TV show — with cheese on top.
But Steve Kerr — who happened to play for Phil Jackson back in the day — made his fifth straight NBA Finals appearance as a coach this season, notching three wins in the process. (He gets the legend status, because he also won five rings as a player.)
Speaking of process — is Shaq thinking processed cheese, you think? Maybe something squirted right out of a can onto Kerr’s feet? Hey, Shaq could also talk to his former Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra, who took the LeBron James-led Miami Heat to the Finals four straight years too.
