The 21-year-old rookie center set a new record by becoming the first center to have a 30-point triple-double game in the NBA and surprised two great legends of basketball during a recent confession on the podcast.
Queen, the center for the New Orleans Pelicans, who had a rookie year average of 11.7 points and 7.1 rebounds, named his one-on-one dream matchup on the podcast hosted by Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady.
“My dream one-on-one matchup is probably Shaq,” Queen said.
“Bro, stop. You can name anybody else, but you can’t,” McGrady said on the Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady podcast. “You want to get dunked on? It’s all good. He wants to get dunked on. So that’s your dream? That’s your dream to get dunked on?”
McGrady’s disbelief made sense given what prime O’Neal represented. In his prime with the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers, O’Neal measured 7’1″ and weighed more than 325 pounds, which made him virtually impossible to defend around the basket throughout his entire career.
Queen then explained that he was referring to a different O’Neal altogether, one who had played for the Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics, and not for his Lakers glory years. Even this qualification could not placate Carter entirely, seeing how O’Neal was still physically imposing well into his thirties.
“Hey, but he still was hitting,” Carter said on the podcast. “That’s when he was trying to hurt people because he didn’t have the lift, but he could still dunk. I don’t know if you want to see that smoke either, bro.”
During his stint at Phoenix, O’Neal managed to score 16.5 points per game, grabbed 9.0 rebounds, played in 103 games, and scored 45 points against Toronto, even though the fast-paced style of the team did not suit him.
Lastly, his stay with Boston in 2010-11 was no different, though in a more limited capacity because he only appeared in 37 games due to injuries. The Celtics won 28 games out of 37 whenever O’Neal was on the floor, and he had his best shooting percentage of 66.7%.
That context allowed the conversation on the podcast to shift into Queen’s efforts to reach out to veterans across the league. He had met O’Neal during Finals coverage, but the interaction was fleeting when it occurred.
McGrady seized the opportunity to tell Queen to continue making those connections despite the brief nature of his encounter.
“Do me a favor, continue to reach out, because Shaq has good stuff for you, man,” McGrady said. “Be a sponge and just learn from people, man. Hear their stories and take pieces from that to mold your game.”
His first season as a member of the Queen’s team provided him with a lot of material for those talks. Apart from the legendary triple-double against San Antonio, he finished the season with a game of 30 points and 22 rebounds against Minnesota, demonstrating physical abilities that were typical of Shaq’s game style.
With the Pelicans now in their 25th year with a new head coach in Jamahl Mosley, the development of Queen is important for the city as they finished with a record of 26-56 in their last season. The fact that he is willing to look for players like O’Neal shows that he knows how to capitalize on his first-year success.