Officer Shaquille O'Neal challenges cop to hit a trick shot with his signed ball
Honorary US Deputy Marshall Shaquille O'Neal challenged "Trickshotcop," a fellow officer renowned for his freestyle basketball skills, to do a trick shot. O'Neal met the part-time digital influencer recently and signed a basketball for him. Here's what O'Neal said to him:
"Hi, I am Shaquille O'Neal, and this is Trickshotcop.'I've signed this ball, so if you do a trick with this ball, I'll know it's real. Challenge!"
Here's the video of this interaction posted by "Trickshotcop" on Instagram:
Who is Trickshotcop?
Trickshotcop, aka Sergeant Arius George, is a TikTok star with over one million fans on the social networking platform. He has about 370k followers on his Instagram. He started his influencer career by posting trick shots in the gym, gaining a prominent following among hoops fans. He's also appeared at one of the LA Clippers games.
From throwing the ball off a wall into the net with his back to the basket to simply showing off some handles from halfcourt and then making a back-to-the-basket trickshot, the LAPD officer has done it all. "Trickshotcop."
Shaquille O'Neal's career as a cop
NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal always wanted to be a cop. He was named an honorary US Deputy Marshall in 2005. O'Neal attended the Los Angeles County Reserve Academy to join the force as a reserve officer with LA Port Police.
O'Neal went to work soon with his new job. He helped the authorities by following a suspect accused of attacking a homosexual couple. Shaq was in Miami at the time.
Shaq ended up becoming an honorary Miami Beach Police Officer following that incident. He reportedly earns a salary of $1 a year. O'Neal declared he wanted recognition as a police officer and not just someone who helps the cops.
The former NBA superstar was also part of a raid in Virginia, which led to him being sworn in as the sheriff's deputy in Jonesboro, Georgie. The Broward County Sheriff's Office made him an honorary deputy in 2019.
Basketball legend @SHAQ goes by many nicknames, and now added to that list is Deputy Shaq. The big man now works as an auxillary deputy with the #BSO. Sheriff Tony sat down with Shaq and the two talked about the different ways law enforcement works to keep communities safe. pic.twitter.com/H8j2lwUm0B
Being a cop was on Shaquille O'Neal's list when growing up. He also laid out several reasons to join the force in an old interview, saying:
"This was on my list as a youngster. I said one day, I wanna be a cop. I think I can lead a force."
The Lakers legend added:
"Like a lot of people would give me badges. You know what, if you give me a badge when I go out on the street, the officers are not going to respect me."
Shaq's certified career as a cop also explains why he was dressed like one during the clip he shot with Trickshotcop.