Saw this little tidbit of information in the April 23, 2007 issue of Sports Illustrated
NBA Back Stories
The Numbers Game
Shaquille O'Neal
Heat Center
"In college (LSU) I wore 33 for Patrick Ewing," says O'Neal. "I wanted it in Orlando, but Terry Catledge wanted to sell it for $50,000. I was not paying that. So I went with 32. With the Lakers, I couldn't have 32 because of Magic, or 33 (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). I took 34. Here (Heat), I wanted 33, but Zo" -- center Alonzo Mourning, who also wears 33 for Ewing -- "was coming back. SO I took 32." Why not stay with his Lakers digits? Shaq, bitter at being dealt by L.A., says, "I didn't go with 34 because 34 was stabbed in the back in Los Angeles."
Yet another classic Shaq story.
Who would have ever thought that both he and Mourning idolized fellow alum Patrick Ewing.
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