During the 2000 NBA Finals, as the Los Angeles Lakers battled the Indiana Pacers for the title, Shaquille O’Neal was under immense pressure. The stakes were enormous: win Game 4 in Indianapolis, and the Lakers would be one step closer to their first championship in the post-Magic Johnson era. Lose, and the series would be tied, with momentum swinging toward the Pacers. But amid the tension and spotlight, O’Neal made a choice that had nothing to do with basketball, and everything to do with humanity.
The story was recently retold by Dale Brown, O’Neal’s former coach at LSU, and it reveals a side of the superstar rarely seen in headlines. On the day of Game 4, Brown received a call from a woman in Indianapolis. Her nine-year-old son was in a coma, battling a cancerous brain tumor. She asked if there was any way Shaquille could call her son, just so he could hear his hero’s voice before passing.
“I thought that was a big ask,” Brown admitted. “I didn’t think I could get it done, but I said I’d try. So I called Shaquille. When he agrees to do something, he’ll always say, ‘Gotcha, coach. Gotcha, coach.’”
Brown didn’t hear back immediately. Two years later, while having lunch with coaching legend John Wooden and businessman T.J. Moran, a young man approached their table. A woman followed and introduced herself to Brown:
“Coach Brown, you probably don’t remember me. I called you from Indianapolis.”
Brown replied,
“I know exactly who you are. Your son was dying of cancer and you wanted me to have Shaquille call him on your cell phone. Did he do it?”
Her answer stunned him.
“No, he never called,” she said. “He came to the hospital. He sat with that child for an hour and a half. He sang to him. He fed him. He told him jokes. My son woke up and talked to him.”
This wasn’t a publicity stunt. There were no cameras, no press releases. It was a private act of compassion from a man whose public persona was often defined by dominance, charisma, and humor. On the biggest night of his professional life, Shaquille O’Neal chose to be present for a dying child.
That night, O’Neal went on to score 36 points and grab 21 rebounds, leading the Lakers to a crucial Game 4 victory. They would win the series in six games, and Shaq would be named Finals MVP. But for those who know this story, his greatest victory may have come hours before tip-off.
“You’re not going to see that in the headlines,” Brown said. “But that’s the real Shaquille O’Neal.”
