Shaquille O’Neal Rejects New York Life as Survival Instincts Kick in Over Years Old Knicks Trade Rumors

There’s a little known rumor in Shaq-lore that he almost ended up in New York. Shaquille O’Neal himself can’t confirm it though. When he dropped by The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon asked him about it. O’Neal was dismissive about the possibility of lacing up for the Knicks. But not for reasons you’d think. 7’1″ Big Diesel is not confident about adapting to the New York lifestyle.

In recent years a story surfaced that former Knicks coach, Don Nelson was pushing to send Patrick Ewing to Orlando for Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal himself admitted he heard about this trade rumor for the first time backstage on The Tonight Show. Fallon imagined New York would love to have Shaq but the big man gave a big “Meh,” to the idea.

“I don’t think Shaq would survive in New York,” is what Shaq himself says. He doesn’t mean that New York would ‘eat’ him up. He’s just got certain quirks he can’t give up. “I like driving… you can’t drive in New York.” New Yorkers can vouch for that. And Shaq wouldn’t want to give up on his customized Tesla Cybertruck or Bentleys.

He wouldn’t be suited to the Big Apple’s favorite mode of transportation either as he tells Fallon, “I’m too big to get on the train.” Yeah, picture the 7 foot giant hunching his way through the NYC subway line.

The lifestyle norms of New York wouldn’t work for Shaq in one season with the Knicks. Works still draws him to the city, like filming for his role on Gravesend. But playing in Madison Square Garden would be a different story.

Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t buy the New York hype

Shaquille O’Neal compared the New York crowd to Los Angeles where he suited up for the Lakers from 1996 to 2004. “Similar to LA, New York is a place where you have to step up.” Just as Shaq did in LA, he’s sure he’d win over the crowd in New York too.

He had a similar ambitious take in 2019. “If I was a youngster, Madison Avenue would be turning into Shaq Avenue. People always talk about business and business after basketball. Knicks don’t have a star player, so any superstar that comes there, Madison Avenue is going to open up them doors.”

But his stance has shifted. He recently expressed on The Big Podcast too that New York and the Knicks are over-hyped. “New York is a place that’s built on hype, that controls the hype, they can hype everybody else up. They haven’t won s***,” was his blunt opinion. In the past season, he didn’t believe the Knicks stood a chance against the Celtics despite being a top-seeded team. He even took a jab at its current roster. “[Jalen Brunson] can play, I was wrong about him, he’s impressive. But they’re nowhere close to winning a championship.”

A young O’Neal in the Knicks would’ve been a whole other story. It appears the NYC and its team are not living up to the expectations he built in the past.