Roosevelt Mitchell, the award-winning educator based in Missouri, is an inspiration himself. But he called in some extra pep for his students in the form of Shaquille O’Neal. The NBA legend and originator of Shaq-a-Claus called into Mitchell’s class to address his students earlier this month. The teacher shared some of the best moments from it with his 50k Instagram followers. And the highlight was Shaq telling these kids there’s no such thing as negative commentary unless it’s coming from someone worthy. Like LeBron James.

“@shaq came and dropped knowledge on my students yesterday,” Roosevelt said about Shaq saying whose commentary he really follows. O’Neal said, “If a guy like LeBron James says something, should probably listen to it. You know, he’s been there, he’s done that. But if a guy who’s sitting on the sideline, who can’t even play, why would you even listen to him?”

Interesting take. Shaq and LeBron have spent the last few weeks locked in a hilarious and indirect back-and-forth that’s all in good fun and no malice. It started with O’Neal saying his former teammate doesn’t instill fear in his opponents like he did in his prime. It ended with James pointing out that he’s had more consecutive double-digit games than Shaq had games in his entire career. Shaq cheekily came back with a reminder that his partnership with Kobe Bryant outscored any duo LeBron was part of.

Shaq’s proving his own advice to the kids by listening and reacting to LeBron. But he’s held his former teammate in high regard for everything he’s proven on the court. There are more than a few instances where Shaq overtly states he’s jealous of Bron. Recently it was when James became the league’s all-time leading scorer in 2023 and he also envied the way James makes a strong case for GOAT.

O’Neal’s policy isn’t new either. Touting his “G14 classification” – stolen from Chris Tucker’s character on Rush Hour – he always proclaims that athletes who have been on the court have the credentials to talk about the sport on TV. As he told the kids, “How can a nobody influence a somebody?” he recommends kids listen to their heroes. He does too.

Shaquille O’Neal’s hero isn’t LeBron James

As much as he’s a fan, LeBron isn’t going to push Shaq much. He told the kids the only people he listens to are his mother, “my boys,” and people like Roosevelt Mitchell. Basically, only the ones who send out positivity and uplift others. The rest are haters and Shaq doesn’t waste any energy on them.

He hopes the kids will take heed and only absorb the positive inspiration from those around them. Note: he’s not even pushing the kids to look up to him, though he gives plenty of reason to.

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Do you think Shaq’s selling himself short as a role model for kids? Or would LeBron give him more reason to be jealous in that regard too?