When Shaquille O’Neal slammed Jerry Buss for dating women decades younger than him: “Hang out with 60-year-olds, not 20-year-olds.”57
Verbal clashes in the NBA are usually as civil as the situation allows. But sometimes, these exchanges get heated and personal. A clear example happened in May 2005.
At that time, Shaquille O’Neal made some harsh comments about then-Los Angeles Lakers owner, the late Jerry Buss. “Big Diesel” dropped all diplomacy and made statements that quickly grabbed headlines.
An explosive split
Of course, the tension between Shaq and Jerry didn’t just appear out of nowhere. It actually started with a decision that changed both of their careers. After the 2003-04 NBA season, Buss, who had owned the Lakers since 1979, was reportedly a key reason the front office chose not to extend O’Neal’s contract and eventually traded the star center to the Miami Heat.
After almost ten years in Los Angeles and playing a huge role in the team’s iconic three championship titles in a row, “Diesel” didn’t take the decision well. The future Hall of Famer wasn’t just disappointed — he was deeply upset, especially when Buss later suggested that the trade was what pushed Shaq to finally get in shape.
That comment hit a nerve for someone like the 2000 MVP, known for his pride and occasional pettiness. The former LSU big man saw it as a personal jab and responded with one of his own, targeting Buss’s promiscuous lifestyle.
“I didn’t need motivation,” Shaq fired back. “I needed a real owner — like Micky Arison. Not a guy who parties with girls that are three times [younger].”
Things got personal
At the time of Shaq’s sharp remark, Jerry, who passed away in February 2013, was 72. In the decades before, the Utah native had indeed built a reputation for dating much younger partners.
O’Neal wasn’t alone in noticing Buss’s lifestyle. Ex-Lakers head coach Jack McKinney once told a former NBA colleague that the owner was “never with the same woman twice” and that few of his female companions were older than twenty-five.
According to media reports about Buss’s dating history, there was some truth to these comments. After he took over the franchise in California, he was often seen with women much younger than him, usually models or former Playboy bunnies. Some of their names were Debbie Zafrani, Karen Demel, and Puppi Buss. This reported preference for younger partners continued until Jerry’s death.
When he passed away at age 80, he was reportedly dating a student in her late twenties named Delia Cortez.
While that certainly was his private business, Shaq found the age gap strange, to say the least.
“When you are 60, hang out with 60-year-olds, not 20-year-olds,” advised the two-time scoring leader, adding, “That is all I got to say about Jerry Buss.”
Ultimately, the hard-hitting personal nature of O’Neal’s comment showed just how much things had soured between him and Buss after their split in the mid-2000s.
What was once a strong relationship built on mutual respect had dissolved into tension and pointed remarks, highlighting how quickly loyalty can fade in the high-stakes world of professional sports.
