SAN ANTONIO — Before he won NBA titles with the Lakers and carved his path to the Basketball Hall of Fame, Shaquille O'Neal spent most of his teenage days playing basketball in San Antonio for Cole High School while his father was stationed there.
But Shaq has not forgotten about life in San Antonio and immersing himself in the rich Hispanic culture he was exposed to.
"Very familiar with the Hispanic culture. Grew up playing basketball in San Antonio," he said.
Shaq added that his best friend's family in San Antonio helped him become familiar with San Antonio's Fiesta Week and Mexican food.
"They taught me about fajitas, they tell me about tacos," he said. "Fiesta!"
"So the Ramos family showed us everything. I remember the first time they took me to Fiesta, and I was like, what is this? And they talked about the Mexican culture. I still eat fajitas to this day," said Shaq.
Shaq didn't stop at San Antonio's fajitas. He admits he still enjoys the city's chicken fajitas and nachos.
He fell out of favor with local fans during his NBA playing days. He admittedly made up a story that San Antonio Spurs great David Robinson ignored his request to sign an autograph when he was at Cole High School and recently said Victor Wembanyama isn't a top-level NBA player because he hasn't taken the Spurs to the playoffs yet and doubts his dominance because he plays on the perimeter.
Of course, he was also a part of the heated Spurs-Lakers rivalry in the early 2000s and helped Los Angeles to thwart any Spurs chance at going to the NBA Finals.
But credit to him. When it comes to things off the court unrelated to basketball, Shaq still remembers his time in San Antonio as a memorable experience.
And all Spurs fans can appreciate that from the big man.
What do you have to say about Shaq's thoughts on San Antonio, Spurs fans? Let us know on X at KENS 5 and JeffGSpursKENS5.