Way back in 1994, Shaquille O’Neal, who will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, was asked about Knicks center Patrick Ewing.
“He’s still a great player, even at 31,” O’Neal said, according to a Sports Illustrated story. “I know for a fact that I won’t be playing at 31.”
For O’Neal, who was then just 21 and in his second season with the Magic, a decade surely felt like a century. The 1992 No. 1 overall pick was already one of the world’s most popular athletes and handsomely-paid celebrity endorsers.