Will the Real Shaq Please Stand Up?

Dear Shaq,

It's me, one of your biggest fans. I have followed you since you first entered this league, and one of the things I love about you is that you have always been genuine. You have never been afraid to tell it how it is, and you never care what people think about you.

However, in the last year, you haven’t been truthful.

In some of your interviews in the past year, you have been sucking up to Kobe Bryant, your arch-nemesis.

Once again in an interview with Stephen A. Smith this past week you praised Kobe as the MVP of the league.

However, this time you went as far as to claim that you love Kobe and your feud with him was all marketing, which everyone knows is a ridiculous lie.  

I thought Kobe was the only one who seemed completely fake in interviews, but apparently you do too.

Since you left the Lakers, Kobe has progressed into one of the top two players in the league, and you are no longer as relevant as you once were, but Kobe is still that same guy.

He is still that same guy who, according to reports, stated to the police that he should have paid off his women so that they wouldn't say anything, like you. He also stated that you would pay women up to $1 million to stay quiet about their rendezvous with you.

He is still that same guy who tried to be the man in the 2004 NBA Finals, forced up shots, and cost the Lakers—and you—another title.

He is still that same guy who got you traded out of L.A because he wanted to be the man.

He is still that same guy who rode you to the top but never appreciated it.

When you rapped in a night club about Kobe in the summer and didn't realize it was being recorded, you were being real.

When you won a title with Miami in 2005 and said Wade was the best teammate you've ever played with because he was a humble guy, you were being real.

I have no problem with you forgiving Kobe, but you should know that even if you forgive, you should never forget.

You may be old, but I know you haven’t forgotten everything yet. It’s obvious to me that you’re trying to show you've made peace with Kobe to get your former Lakers’ fans back on your side before you retire.

I can't imagine how hard it must be to have played your heart out for an organization and won three titles for them, yet still have many of your former fans loathe you.

However, you don’t realize that by trying to get some of your old fans back, you’re losing your real fans in the process.

If your former fans don’t appreciate what you did for them, then they were never your true fan in the first place.

A fan that only lives in the present isn’t a real fan.

A Celtics fan, which has no respect for Larry Bird, is not a real Celtics fan. A Bulls fan, which has no respect for Jordan, is not a real Bulls fan. A Lakers fan, which has no respect for you, is not a real Lakers fan.

I know exactly what you’re feeling. You’re getting older and you’re afraid your legacy won’t be quite what you wanted it to be. You don’t want to retire as a man with no real city to call your home.

You want to be what Hakeem is to Houston, Bird is to Boston, and Jordan is to Chicago.

But you know what Shaq?

Not everyone is going to like you.

You need to stay true to the fans that have always stuck by you.

You need to not be afraid of retiring without a legacy as one of the most beloved players in Lakers history.

When it's all said in done, you're not going to be just an icon of any single city, you're going to be much more than that.

No player in NBA will ever be like you on the court, or off the court, and that’s what separates you from everyone else.

That’s why you will go down in history, not just as an NBA legend, but an NBA icon.

So please Shaq,

For your fans that always stuck by you through the good times and the bad times, answer this last question.

Will the real Shaq please stand up?

Sincerely,

Ari Horing