It’s a Friday morning in May and Ahmad Rashad is talking about the day he played one-on-one against Shaq. In classic Ahmad Rashad fashion, the story has a lot of energy. It was 1992 and Rashad was in his third year as the host of “NBA Inside Stuff,” a Saturday morning show on NBC. Shaquille O’Neal was then the most hyped rookie in years. The idea was simple: Let’s do something loose.
Rashad always wanted to show NBA players as they were, to provide behind-the-scenes access, to enter their world, and most importantly, to do something fun.
In this case, access wasn’t a problem. Rashad and O’Neal shared the same agent. And even so, Rashad seemed to know everyone in NBA circles. The crew from “Inside Stuff” would fly to Los Angeles, film the segment, and introduce the incredible basketball specimen that was Shaq.
“Just to show how big and strong he is,” Rashad said.
The producers found a…
