Shaq Sculpture Designer: Why The Diesel Is 10 Times Stronger Than Michael Jordan

Today, the Los Angeles Lakers and AEG will officially christen a statue commemorating the legacy of the Hall of Fame center in a ceremony in front of the Staples Center. The bronze recreation of O’Neal, designed by Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt Amrany, joins statues of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Oscar de la Hoya and Lakers announcer Chick Hearn in the arena courtyard across from the L.A. Live entertainment complex.

What sets the Shaq statue apart from the rest is its placement. Technically, it’s not even in said courtyard. It’s high above it, affixed to a ceiling and next to a window, with the Big Aristotle hanging post-dunk and wearing a grimace that Twitter has likened to the face of WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin.

So you can understand my trepidation about walking underneath a massive bronze Shaquille O’Neal in earthquake-prone Los Angeles..

Omri Amrany came up with the idea for suspending a statue above arena-goers 25 years ago, and Shaq ended up being the perfect person to make his vision come to life.

“When I talked to the Lakers’ management, the discussion was … people want to touch Shaquille,” Amrany tells Bleacher Report over the phone from his home in Illinois. “I said, ‘Yes, people want to touch Shaquille—but wouldn’t it be stronger to have the quest to touch instead of (actually) touching?'”

Martha Irvine/Associated Press

Amrany also designed all the other statues at Staples, plus the Wilt Chamberlain piece in Philadelphia, and, most famously, the iconic Michael Jordan statue in front of the United Center. His aim in all of these projects was to capture the essence of the player and to preserve it for all time.

“Kareem is known for the hook shot, Jerry [West] is known for the moves and Magic was known for the coordination and capability. Michael Jordan was known for the spread eagle,” he says. “When we did Wilt Chamberlain in Philadelphia, we emphasized the dunking. Everybody had their niche. Shaquille is very well known for the slam and hanging by the rim. How do you do it without touching the ground? That was the question from the beginning.”

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