Shaquille O’Neal to Appear on Next Season of ‘Fresh Off the Boat’

By Sameer Rao Aug 17, 2015

For all you 90s basketball lovers, here’s a reason to rejoice:

Lakers and Magic phenom Shaquille O’Neal, one of the most ubiquitous atheletes of all time, will be making an appearance on the upcoming second season of ABC’s acclaimed "Fresh Off the Boat." Show producer Melvin Mar announced the appearance for the first time on Saturday at the Asian American Journalists Association’s national conference in San Francisco. Mar appeared as one of two keynote speakers, alongside United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. 

The statement, witnessed by this Colorlines writer, was confirmed by conference attendees, including Angry Asian Man founder and writer Phil Yu: 

The comedy, inspired by the memoirs of noteworthy chef Eddie Huang of the same name, stars Randall Park and Constance Wu as the Taiwanese parents of a young Huang as they move from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Florida and wrestle with culture clash and maturity. The show has been praised for its humorous depictions of Asian Amerian family life. Although Mar did not comment too much on the nature of O’Neal’s apperance, the young Huang’s love of basketball and the show’s Orlando setting suggests that the legendary athlete may appear as himself. 

The second season of "Fresh Off the Boat" premieres on September 22.