A bronze statue of former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O’Neal will be unveiled outside Staples Center next March, the team announced Tuesday.
Billed as a tribute to the “larger-than-life Laker great,” the massive statue — which stands 9-feet tall and weighs about 1,200 pounds — will be suspended 10 feet above the ground at Star Plaza, alongside sculptures of other legendary L.A. sports figures, according to a news release on the Lakers website.
It was commissioned by the Lakers, the Staples Center and AEG organizations, and created by the same sculptors behind several other statues in the plaza, the release stated.
The statue will be unveiled at a ceremony before the Lakers game on March 24, 2017, that is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. in Star Plaza, which is just west of where Figueroa Street and Chick Hearn Court intersect in downtown L.A. The ceremony is free to the general public, and will feature speeches from O’Neal, his teammates, colleagues and friends, the release stated.
During the NBA center’s Hall of Fame career with the Lakers, which spanned from 1996 to 2004, O’Neal helped lead to the team to three consecutive league titles, from 2000 to 2002, and was named the NBA Finals MVP after each championship.
He also won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award in 2000, and was a seven-time all-star for the team.
