One night, a 19-year-old Shaquille O'Neal found himself at a legendary nightclub amid the biggest stars he'd ever seen. It was a party hosted by Magic Johnson. There was Eddie Murphy here. Tom Cruise over there. When Johnson and Arsenio Hall arrived, the sea of people on the dance floor at the Roxbury on Sunset parted to honor their arrival.
That's respect, he told himself. Respect for Johnson because Johnson brought championships to Los Angeles.
"When he walked into those places it was like God walking in that building," O'Neal said. "I was like, 'I want that.