SALT LAKE CITY β€” LeBron James surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record was a night for the history books. Not only did James make history, but the advancements in technology and social media allowed fans to see countless angles of the shot and the James family celebrating. One underrated part of the night was the conversation between Hall of Fame Lakers big men Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaq.

Abdul-Jabbar gave James the ball during a ceremony at the end of the third quarter, immediately after he set the all-time scoring record. He then held press conferences with members of the media as well as the NBA on TNT crew, which included Shaquille O'Neal.

In the live broadcast conversation between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaq, the former told the latter that he always has love for him and he's always on his side.

β€œI want to tell Shaq this evening because he felt I was shaming you or ignoring you,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said during the broadcast of Lakers-Thunder. β€œThat would never be the case. You showed them what you were all about the way you crushed all the centers in the league for a couple of years there. I’m on your side, Shaq. Don’t ever let anybody tell you anything different.”

Shaq then responded to Kareem.

β€œHey listen, you not speaking to me was the best thing to happen to my career because all I wanted to do was impress you sir,” said Shaq in response. β€œI will never ever have beef with the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You will never have to worry about that.”

Shaq then took a moment to explain to viewers why he felt the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had slighted him back in the day.

β€œI’m not a sensitive guy, but he would never look at me and would never talk to me. So I thought he didn’t like me,” O’Neal said of his first impressions of Kareem.

In an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints during an NBRPA event at 2023 All-Star Weekend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar cleared the air on his relationship with Shaq.

β€œI made up for a lot of time with Shaquille yesterday. He interviewed me, you know, we just got a lot of things straight. He used to think I hated him and that was never the case.

β€œI was waiting for him to reach his potential before I could support him. I didn't want to support when he was just a [young guy]. He and Kobe got together and changed everybody's idea of what he was possible of doing. I don't know if you guys remember the Orlando-Houston playoff series and [Hakeem] Olajuwon just took Shaquille to school and what could I say? It was time for him to learn and get serious and once he did that, he's a Hall of Famer and he belongs there.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wasn't necessarily wrong in his initial expectations for Shaq.

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In Shaq's second-to-last season with the Orlando Magic, his team was trounced by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets in a four-game sweep of the NBA Finals. Shaq put up huge numbers, averaging 28.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.5 blocks on 59.5 percent shooting from the field. Meanwhile, Olajuwon averaged 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game.

It's unclear what extra gear he decided to go into, but Shaquille O'Neal went on to dominate the league even further to the point where he became one the NBA's most unstoppable players. Alongside the late, great Kobe Bryant, Shaq and the Lakers went on to win three consecutive NBA titles, falling just three games shy of a four-peat.

Following his Lakers stint, Shaq also went on to play with Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, where he won the fourth and final NBA championship of his stellar career.

Watch the full interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: