Despite Being Huge in High School, Shaquille O?Neal Got Bullied on the Basketball Court Just Because His Friends Wanted to Save Face: ?They Started Holding Me and Kicking Me?
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Despite Being Huge in High School, Shaquille O?Neal Got Bullied on the Basketball Court Just Because His Friends Wanted to Save Face: ?They Started Holding Me and Kicking Me?
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 09: Shaquille O’Neal attends the WBC heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder at T-Mobile Arena on October 09, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 09: Shaquille O’Neal attends the WBC heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder at T-Mobile Arena on October 09, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most recognizable personalities on the planet. While he was a legendary basketball player and has become a great businessman, the four-time NBA champion is most famous for his size. With his 7’1″ frame, O’Neal used to dominate opponents in his prime and that became a staple of who he was.
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Teams had to resort to throwing multiple defenders on him just so he could be slowed down. No one was able to stop prime Shaq one-on-one in the post. However, this wasn’t new for the 15-time All-Star. He had been dealing with rough defense and triple-teams since his high school days.
As O’Neal once recalled, he mastered the dunk only in his senior year in high school. That was a huge turning point for him and it defined how he would play the game for the rest of his career. “It changed the way people played me“, O’Neal said delightfully.
“They started holding me and kicking me and triple-teaming me. They?d do anything so I wouldn?t dunk on ?em. It was so embarrassing for them“, boasted O’Neal. While it meant more people trying to stop him, Shaq was delighted with so many bodies thrown at him. It proved to him that the opposition didn’t have any answers to stop him.
The trend carried over to the NBA where O’Neal absolutely dominated everyone in his path. He became a household name and the face of the league with his command. Fans loved watching Shaq hammer dunks down with so much ferocity that it sometimes broke the rim.
There have been very few if any, players as dominating as Shaquille O’Neal
While O’Neal mesmerized the fans with his sheer power, it wasn’t for naught. The Los Angeles Lakers legend led them to three straight championships and won the Finals MVP each time. After he was traded to the Miami Heat, he won another ring there before his injuries took their toll.
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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – JUNE 12: Kobe Bryant, Lindsey Hunter, and Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate following Game Four of the NBA Finals against the New Jersey Nets on June 12, 2002, at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Shaq is widely considered to be the most dominating player of all time. Only Wilt Chamberlain has a claim to that tile besides O’Neal. Shaq’s brilliance was there for everyone to see. He is a one-time MVP, three-time Finals MVP, two-time scoring champion, and a three-time All-Star game MVP among a whole host of accolades.
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O’Neal continues to be in the limelight with his gig as an analyst on TNT and his various business ventures. The legendary big man doesn’t intend to stop anytime soon.
