Fighting words from Kazaam:

“It was expected,” Shaq said. “We’ve all been in LA, and not a whole lot of people can handle being under the bright lights. Everybody wants to do it, but when you get there, there are certain pressures. I think it was a safe move for him to go to a little town like Houston. That’s right, little town. I said it.”

Shaq may be correct based on population. The population of LA in the 2010 census was roughly 13 million, the second largest metropolitan area. Houston was roughly 6 million, trailing right behind Dallas for the fifth largest area. Those numbers may look somewhat closer in the 2020 census, as Houston’s rate of growth is dwarfing California’s.

However, Shaq is wrong based on area. Houston is the 8th largest city by area, with over 627 square miles. (Cities 1-7 are all in Alaska or Montana  with the exception of Jacksonville, Florida). Los Angeles is trailing behind at #12, with (only) 467.7 square miles.

So there.