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Shaquille O’Neal Wheels Out Mike Tyson to Sum Up Brooklyn Nets Sitch

Published 07/02/2022, 9:30 AM EDT

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Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is one of the most iconic boxers of all time. Unsurprisingly, he has also been a long-time favorite of basketball and NBA players. In fact, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal recently used ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ as the basis for a rather hilarious meme.

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In an Instagram story, Shaq shared a tweet by Gump Cathcart. Notably, Cathcart is a member of ‘The Pat McAfee Show’. Gump had tweeted a video of Tyson‘s epochal ‘my back is broken’ quote. Additionally, he also wrote in the caption, “Ben Simmons after KD & Kyrie get traded.”

The scenario behind the post is also rather intriguing. It was recently reported that Kevin Durant requested Brooklyn Nets owner, Joe Tsai, to be traded from the franchise. Meanwhile, another trade saw Durant’s former teammate Kyrie Irving landing in the LA Clippers.

via Getty

This, in turn, puts the burden of building the Nets on the back of Ben Simmons. And, the herculean challenge of bridging the void left by the veterans is sure to be taxing for the young point guard.

With the complexity that Simmons has ahead of him, Shaq sharing Tyson’s famous meme seems justified.

The woe of a broken back with Mike Tyson

The iconic line that has since become a meme was from Mike Tyson’s post-fight interview in 2002.

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Tyson faced Lennox Lewis at the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee on June 8, 2002. While Tyson showcased a spectacular performance, he was unable to outbox the formidable Lewis. He defeated Tyson via knockout in the 8th round. Moreover, in victory, he also secured Tyson’s WBC, IBF, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles.

In the post-fight interview, the interviewer asked him about his performance. Additionally, he even asked Tyson if he was unwell. In response, Tyson blurted out the famous line, “I broke my back, my back is broken. Spinal!”

In fact, the resurfaced clip set social media on fire, by becoming an essential part of multiple memes and videos.

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WATCH THIS STORY –  Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres, And More: Top 5 Talk Shows Mike Tyson Appeared On

What do you think of the Brooklyn Nets situation? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Joshua Ben Joseph

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Joshua Ben Joseph is a Boxing writer for EssentiallySports. He started his career as an editorial cartoonist and holds a BFA degree with a specialization in Animated Filmmaking and Screenwriting from AISFM, Hyderabad. An avid lover of boxing history, Joshua believes his writing extends his lifelong adoration for combat sports.
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Edited by:

Ajinkya Aswale