Stephen Curry and Shaquille O’Neal have two completely opposite skill sets. While one made his name inside the paint, the other made the three-point shot look like a layup. Nevertheless, O’Neal has often compared himself, sometimes hilariously, to the greatest shooter of all time. His latest stunt, however, caught the eye of Curry’s mother, who had to step in to correct the big man. Given the Golden State Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry’s complexion, many have been fooled about his ethnicity. Now NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal seems to have fallen prey to that as well.

Having a career average of 52% from the free-throw line, Shaq is considered to be one of the worst shooters in NBA history. On the other hand, Curry is credited for revolutionizing the game with his other-worldly shooting. So how can Shaq possibly compare himself to Steph?

Shaquille O’Neal channeled his inner Stephen Curry, only to be corrected by Sonya

Notably, Shaq’s DJ Diesel persona fills up arenas with fans coming to see the seven-footer make them hop on his beats. While Shaq was able to do that in one of his recent concerts, his caption on the video uploaded on Instagram caught the attention of Stephen Curry’s mother.

The 4-time NBA champ threw a mini-basketball into the crowd, imitating a jump shot. The caption on Instagram was, “I make em when I need to make em.” He also added a laughing emoji at the end. But the caption he wrote on the video said, “I told y’all, I’m the black Steph Curry.”

Considering the big man was one of the worst shooters during his playing days, it was certainly a stretch, calling himself the “black Steph Curry”. Since this wasn’t the first time he made the claim, Sonya Curry decided to correct the Los Angeles Lakers legend. The 57-year-old commented, “Hold up…. my son is Black… how about “Dark skinnedSteph!!! (laughing emoji)”

Sonya made sure to clear the air about her son’s ethnicity. It’s easy to blame Shaq for making such an error, but his misinterpretation can be understood if we take a dive into the Curry family’s history.

Stephen Curry has a light complexion which tends to fool the majority of people around the world. But the Baby-Faced Assassin actually has an African-American background.

Fans and the media have often portrayed Curry as mix-raced. Curry’s ethnic background is tied to the Caribbean nation of Haiti. But all four of his grandparents are African Americans. So, even though the Warriors guard may have a light complexion, he identifies as black.