Did NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal meet a famous girl from the ‘Hawk Tuah’ meme?

Shaquille O’Neal, one of the most talented members of the NBA Hall of Fame, appears to have encountered the Internet’s biggest meme.

A video of a woman answering a sexually explicit question during a street interview with an exaggerated spitting noise – “hawk tuah”, as many have dubbed it on social media – has exploded on TikTok in recent days . Now, a photo of O’Neal with Hailey Welch (the female in the viral video) is making the rounds on social media.

O’Neal, known for his many comedic and viral moments, could leave the stage after the 2025 NBA season. Next year will be the last for TNT’s Inside the NBA, which will add uncertainty about the future of the legend on television.

Here’s a look at how O’Neal confronted an NBA writer who questioned Michael Jordan’s 1988 DPOY award:

O’Neal defended his friend Jordan Saturday afternoon when he said Yahoo! Sports Tom Haberstroh should stop diminishing the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award that Jordan won in 1988.

Earlier this month, Haberstroh revealed that Jordan was getting preferential treatment for home games and that statisticians had boosted his defensive stats to make it look like he had accomplished more than. Jordan’s former teammate Scottie Pippen also made the claim in a passage in his book in 2021.

Shaq criticized Haberstroh’s report during a segment of the Big Podcast with Shaq. O’Neal acknowledged, however, that players are more often given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to difficult situations.

“Unconfirmed, did you see them watching the game? I don’t believe it. It’s not confirmed and it doesn’t matter. Are they giving more love at home? They are. But it doesn’t matter. It’s there, it’s ‘Forget it, it’s not confirmed, oops, fuck it,'” O’Neal said. “You want to impress me, go back and change it. Forget it, it’s not confirmed… What are you going to do, Mr. Statistician, to the man? What are you going to do? Now, stop it. Forget it.”

These accusations are perhaps the only blemish in Jordan’s career. He is often considered the greatest player in league history after winning titles in all six of his NBA Finals appearances. Jordan also has the highest scoring average in the league (30.1) and has won five regular season MVP awards.

Anthony Pasciolla is a contributing writer for Back In The Day NBA. You can contact him at [email protected] or follow him on X @anthonypasci.

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