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AP
MIAMI - The family of George Mikan accepted Shaquille O’Neal’s offer to pay for the late center’s funeral expenses.
O’Neal said arrangements were finalized Friday. “Everything’s going to be handled,” O’Neal said.
Mikan, the NBA’s first dominant big man, died Wednesday night at a rehabilitation center in Scottsdale, Ariz., following a long fight with diabetes and kidney ailments. He was 80.
O’Neal said he greatly enjoyed getting to know and speak with Mikan on several occasions. Shortly after the Heat beat Detroit 88-76 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night, O’Neal said he would like to handle the funeral costs.
“I’d like to send my condolences to the Mikan family,” O’Neal said. “I heard they were having some trouble, some problems, so if you contact the Heat office, I would like to pay for the funeral.”
O’Neal and Mikan are linked by leading the Lakers franchise to multiple NBA championships; Mikan carried the Minneapolis Lakers to five titles in a six-year span. O’Neal led the Los Angeles Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000-2002.
O’Neal credits Mikan as someone who helped lay the framework for what the NBA is today.
“Without No. 99, there is no me,” said O’Neal, referring to Mikan by his jersey number.
Terry Mikan said he appreciated O’Neal’s offer.
“It just speaks to what Shaquille is all about,” Mikan’s son said. “He had a bond with my dad. They were close friends.”
O’Neal and Mikan were both selected to the NBA’s list of 50 greatest players, and the two dominant big men of their eras met several times.
“He was a great man. We had many, many conversations,” O’Neal said. “Very nice to me. I know what he was and I know what he did.”
“Frankly, without George Mikan, the Los Angeles Lakers would not be the organization we are today,” said Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss.
Others at the Eastern Conference finals offered their sentiments on Mikan, including Heat president Pat Riley, who called Mikan “the model for all big men that followed him.”
“A truly genuine human being as well as a great player. He made the game what it is today,” Riley said.
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