There’s a row of icon statues outside of the Staples Center including Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson.  Now they’ll add one more, Shaquille O’Neal.  The former Lakers star thought he was doing a standard appearance on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” show, but the TV host and the Lakers had a big surprise for the legendary big man.

The Lakers are building a statue of Shaq outside of the Staples Center and they used Jimmy Kimmel to break the news to the star.  Kimmel is known for playing pranks on celebs and the news was such a surprise, Shaq didn’t believe him.

“We look forward to having Shaq join the other legends who have been honored with statues at STAPLES Center,” Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss said. “He is a giant not only in size, but also in stature and in what he accomplished as a Laker. Shaq literally broke the ground for the site, and was hugely responsible for not only getting STAPLES Center built, but for making it one of the most successful and famous arenas in the world. It’s an honor that is well deserved.”

O’Neal is also likely to be elected to the NBA Hall of Fame this year, making 2016 a very significant one. He played eight seasons with the Lakers and scored nearly half of his 28,596 points while wearing purple and gold. He also won three championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He was the 1999-2000 NBA MVP and the NBA Finals MVP for all three of those Lakers titles, and made the All-Star Game in seven of his seasons in Los Angeles.

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source: SB Nation