Shaq Wants His Kid to be Blake Griffin

Apparently, Shaq isn't concerned about his son's free throw shooting.

By KURT HELIN

Updated 8:34 AM CDT, Tue, Jun 30, 2009

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Shaquille O’Neal had — and to a lesser extent still has — an impressive set of basketball skills. There may never have been in the history of the sport the combination of strength and quickness of foot that Shaq showed in his prime.

And that’s why Shaq wants his son to play like ... Blake Griffin, the Clippers top pick from this draft.

"My (10 year old) son is starting to play now, and I don't like to let him watch players that are really, really fancy. Of course, I'll let him watch Kobe, LeBron, T-Mac (Tracy McGrady). But I show him Blake Griffin and I say, 'Shareef, this is the dude you should watch and pattern your game after.' Because my son, when he's older, I think he's going to have the same body type -- 6-10, muscular, freakish athletically."

The real reason Shaq likes the newest Clipper — Griffin hit just 59% of his free throws last season, a lower percentage than Shaq (59.5% for Phoenix). Shareef, might we suggest you watch Pau Gasol — he has a diverse game and hit 78% of his free throws. Just don’t tell Dad.