Former NBA Star Shaq explains why he supports Staples Centre name change

The Staples Centre is the official home of the : NBA team, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, the WNBA's LA Sparks and the NHL's Los Angeles Kings.

The iconic arena will be getting a new name by the 25th of this month and will be called the Crypto.com Arena in a $700 million naming rights deal.

The new name of the sports and entertainment arena in downtown L.A will be named for the operator of a cryptocurrency app.

Crypto.com, which has recently been running a television commercial featuring Hollywood star actor, Matt Damon, acquired the naming rights to the arena from its owner and entertainment company, AEG in the what has been considered as the biggest naming -rights deal in sports history according to Times.

The change is timed so the new name and logo for the arena will appear when the Lakers are scheduled to play the Brooklyn Nets in a nationally televised game, according to the Times.

"It was a blessing to be able to play in that building. To play in front of my favorite actors and actresses, to play in front of my family, score 61 points on my birthday, win championships, three in a row for the city." Shaq said on The Big Podcast.

O’Neal and the late Kobe Bryant  rejuvenated the LA Lakers’ franchise after the Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar era was officially over.

The team won the NBA championship in 1988 and then didn’t win it again until 2000 in Phil Jackson’s first season with the Lakers

"I’m glad they’re taking the name of the Staples Center down because that was our building.

Congratulations to the owners for getting a new deal, but hey, the Staples Center belongs to Shaq and Kobe forever.", O'Neil said.

According to FOX 11, the arena has also hosted major music acts as well as memorial services for Kobe Bryant, Michael Jackson and Nipsey Hussle in addition to hosting pro sporting events.