By Anietie anii-bassey
When Shaquille Anfernee Murray-Lawrence was born in 1993, his father chose a name that carried championship pedigree. Inspired by basketball icons Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway, who starred together for the Orlando Magic and captured Olympic gold with USA Basketball at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the hope was that his son might one day follow a similar hardwood path.
He did become an Olympian. Just not in the way anyone first imagined.
Murray-Lawrence now represents Canada as a push athlete in bobsleigh, competing at the Milan Cortina Winter Games. Teaming up with pilot Taylor Austin in the two-man event, the pair sat 15th after the first two runs on Monday. A medal may be a long shot, but for the 5-foot-8 Ontario native, simply reaching the Olympic stage fulfills a lifelong pursuit of elite sport.
“Today is very special for me, my country, my friends, family, my whole community,” Murray-Lawrence said. “Just being able to give it my all and just represent Canada.”
Unlike his towering namesake O’Neal, who dominated the paint with size and strength, or Hardaway, whose playmaking dazzled fans in the 1990s, Murray-Lawrence’s athletic gifts emerged differently. Speed, power and relentless drive became his calling cards.
As a high school graduate in Ontario, he set his sights on American football and headed south to chase college opportunities in the United States. The journey proved anything but straightforward. Dozens of letters to college coaches yielded few responses.
He enrolled at a junior college in Texas, only to see the program shuttered. Undeterred, he transferred to another junior college before eventually landing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
At UNLV, Murray-Lawrence’s explosive running style turned heads. He averaged an impressive seven yards per touch, a testament to his acceleration and field vision. Yet he also became something of a curiosity on campus for another reason: his name. It was widely regarded as the longest in school history and was jokingly described as the hardest to fit on a Rebels roster.
Professional football did come calling. The Canadian Football League offered him an opportunity to extend his gridiron career. Around the same time, officials from Bobsleigh Canada began monitoring his speed metrics and physical profile — qualities highly coveted in a sport where the start can determine the outcome of a race measured in hundredths of a second.
The transition from cleats to spikes and from turf to ice required adjustment, but Murray-Lawrence embraced it. The same explosive leg drive that once propelled him through defensive lines now powers a sled down icy tracks at breathtaking speeds.
“My father was definitely a Shaq fan, and he hoped one day that I would grow to 7 feet tall and be dunking in basketball,” he said with a smile. “That never happened, but I was blessed with tremendous speed, tremendous heart, tremendous pride, and that’s all I need.”
He is not the first Olympian to carry the name Shaquille. Zambian swimmer Shaquille Moosa competed in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing 56th overall in an event delayed by the global pandemic.
Greece’s imposing center Sofoklis Schortsanitis, nicknamed “Baby Shaq,” represented his country at the 2008 Summer Olympics and scored 15 points during the tournament, including three in a matchup against the United States.
Now Murray-Lawrence adds his own chapter to that lineage. He has heard rumors that O’Neal may attend the Winter Games and hopes for the chance to meet the Hall of Famer trackside.
“It’s a powerful name,” Murray-Lawrence said. “The name has a great legacy to it and I’m glad I’m able to hold up my end of the bargain. I wasn’t in basketball but, you know, I’ve dominated two sports now — so I think I’m doing pretty good.”
His path has twisted through closed programs, overlooked opportunities and position changes. Yet it has led him to the Olympic ice, where milliseconds matter and resilience defines champions. The boy named for basketball royalty has forged his own sporting identity — one powerful push at a time.
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