The retired NBA veteran thought back on the clothes he wore at the 1992 NBA Draft in light of Caitlin Clark making headlines on Monday night for being the first person to ever be clothed by Prada for the WNBA Draft.
O’Neal exclusively tells PEOPLE, “I just went to a suit store and got a suit on consignment,” referring to the outfit he wore when the Orlando Magic selected him with the first overall pick in that particular year’s draft. “The suit was $1,500.”
The 19-year-old athlete from LSU, who has now played for six NBA clubs, acknowledges, “I didn’t have $1,500 at the time.” But the man behind the counter made a bargain with the young athlete at the time.”The man said to me, ‘Shaq, you’re nice.’” You are a true gentleman. I’m confident you’ll accomplish great things. Please pay me as soon as you can.” This is what O’Neal remembers, before realizing that he was given “two suits for $3,000.”
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“The design didn’t appeal to me. I just knew that I had to dress professionally, present my family, and wear a great, clean business suit,” recalls O’Neal. He accessorized the green suit with a white pocket square that was folded securely, a multicolored tie, and a white collared shirt.According to O’Neal, the two green costumes were taken from “Rochester’s Big and Tall at the time.” In fact, he says that the store “was what prompted” him to launch JCPenney’s Big & Tall collection.Even though O’Neal looked sharp for his big Draft day and used his own experience as inspiration to start his own clothing line recently, he doesn’t consider himself a specialist in fashion and doesn’t give much weight to well-known designers.
“I’m told by my family and my friends I don’t really know and understand fashion,” says O’Neal. “How would you dress if you were trying to get a meeting with Jeff Bezos? That’s how I define fashion. “How do you think you would appear at a meeting with President Barack Obama?”
The basketball player maintains a straightforward approach to fashion, saying, “My own style is about professional or homeboy.”According to O’Neal, he typically wears “jeans and big shirts” for a “homeboy” appearance or “very nice and very clean” when he has to get “dressed up.” He clarifies, saying, “I don’t shop at Louis Vuitton and Prada. That’s not actually what I do.”
During his interview with PEOPLE, O’Neal also talked about his special relationship with fellow LSU alumnus Angel Reese, who was just chosen as the seventh choice in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky.
“People refer to me as Angel’s comprehensible ear,” O’Neal tells PEOPLE alone of Reese. “I know things that she went through, I know what she’s going through, I know what’s about to happen to her and I could give her advice.”
The six-time father of NBA stars says to PEOPLE, “She’s the same age as my children, so I only want the best for her.” “And when you have daughters, you know how to use that calm voice,” he continues.
Thus, according to O’Neal, “the first thing I told her is I was proud of her” after Reese was chosen in the WNBA Draft.
