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49 Year Old Shaquille O’Neal Breaking the Rim Sends NBA World in a State of Disbelief

Published 04/19/2022, 7:30 AM EDT

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Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most beloved athletes not only in the basketball world but worldwide as well. In addition to his loving and cheerful nature, he has dominated the NBA with his skills and physique.

During his time on the basketball court, he was a tough competitor, and his opponents had a hard time competing with him. He is known for his skills, physicality, and ability to break backboards. People are having a deja vu through a video of Shaq on social media as it makes them remember the old Shaq.

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This video shows 49-year-old Shaq breaking the rim and sending the NBA universe into shock. Those days, it was common for the backboard or the rim to get broken since they were made of glass. And yes, the fans loved that moment as well. In the modern era, backboards’ quality has been improved with break-away rims and unbreakable backboards.

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It is difficult to crack or shatter the boards or rims, however, even after all these efforts it didn’t stop Shaq to smash the construction of the basket. Apart from his NBA career, he has also done this after retiring. In the video, you can see how dominant he can still be after so many years away from basketball.

The reasons Shaquille O’Neal tore the rims and smashed backboards

With a height of 7’2″ and a weight of 325 lbs, Shaq has an impressive body structure. As a result of his physical appearance, he has dominated the NBA throughout his career and never stopped making impressive dunks. The fact that he hung on the rim with one or two hands was enough to shock the NBA for a while.

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He once shared his perspective on why he wanted to tear the rims and break the backboards. He mentioned the following during his appearance on Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes’ podcast “All The Smoke

“It was all being mad at my dad for punching me in my face that one day… Because I knew if I dunked hard, I got your attention. Especially if you’re big and strong and I go through you and throw it down. Now I got your attention.”

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It is evident from the viral video how powerful Shaq is even after all these years. Despite his age, he possesses many of the same skills that he had a few years ago. We’d like to hear your suggestions, so leave a comment below.

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Written by:

Anshika Rai

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Anshika Rai is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. She is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication. Anshika has been following NBA for many years now.
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Edited by:

Arunaditya Aima