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Shaquille O’Neal Pours Cold Water on Vince Carter As He Tries Making Emotional Speech About Hall of Fame Selection

Published 02/22/2024, 8:27 PM EST

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Vince Carter joined the ‘Inside the NBA crew’ by replacing Charles Barkley, who was busy broadcasting with Draymond Green during the All-Star weekend. Looks like the 76ers legend wanted some rest after a few days of fun, but anyhow, Carter is not here for that reason alone. The Toronto Raptors legend is now a step closer to one of the biggest honors of his career as he is a finalist for the 2024 Hall of Fame nomination. Carter, as always, was too humble about this huge moment, which is quite contrasting to what he is on the court. The Slam Dunk contest winner was too formal with his replies and Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t tolerate it. 

Carter shared, “You know, you come into the NBA, you want to be the best version of yourself, you wanna show the world what you can do.” Before the 8x All-Star could continue, the Los Angeles Lakers icon clicked his tongue and chimed in, “Don’t come over here with those corporate answers…Don’t try to be corporate, give me a ‘Vince’ answer.” The Big Diesel tried his best, but Carter was too used to being formal on live TV. 

Instead, he credited Shaquille O’Neal for his HOF to make him feel better. That’s a way to escape indeed! Carter shared how Shaq was a potential Hall of Famer in his entry into the league. With that said, the Raptors icon is also skeptical if everyone would agree that he deserves to be a part of the Naismith Memorial. 

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After Shaq returned his praise, Carter said, “Some say” that he needs to be a Hall of Famer and not everyone. However, 4x champion Shaq assured that his nomination is “well deserved”. Also, Looking at the list of nominees selected, there is a great chance that Carter is going into the Hall of Fame

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Who are the competitors for Vince Carter in the 2024 HOF class? 

It is a dream for Carter to rep his iconic Raptors jersey if he gets into the Hall of Fame. We are just a few weeks away from the final results for the class of 2024. It will be announced at Phoenix on April 6, for which the fans are eagerly waiting. Along with Carter, a few other famous nominees are Chauncey Billups, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Bo Ryan, and Charles Smith. 

All await the doomsday and many are rooting for Carter. Hopefully this will be a fitting honor his contribution to the NBA for 22 straight seasons. Do you think the 47-year-old’s dream will come true? 

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Written by:

Rohan Dharmalingam

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Rohan Dharmalingam is an NBA beat writer at EssentiallySports, who extensively covers the Lakers. Be it a multimillion dollar deal breaking or a classic throwback, Rohan has covered the many themes and formats. Most notably, his coverage received a shoutout from the Purple & Gold icon Shaquille O'Neal and the rap legend 50 Cent, on Instagram.
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