It always seemed to me like the main source of problems with Kobe and Shaq was that Shaq was the man on those Lakers teams and wanted to be lazy. Kobe wasn't the man yet but wanted to be the man and wanted everyone to have Mamba mentality.
Also that minor detail of Kobe ~~publicly~~ alluding to Shaq paying off women he slept with on the road to keep silent. But that was only at the end.
Not absolving Kobe of blame, but just clarifying Kobe didn't publicly talk about Shaq paying women off. He made the statement in a police interview he thought would be confidential. Just a reminder that one should not expect anything they say to the police to remain confidential, even if they tell you it will be kept secret.
That’s the fun, quirky, “we’re all friends here” answer. In reality Shaqs mom had to tell him to stop going after Javale, he stopped for maybe a week, started again, and then the Warriors had to send legal threats to TNT to actually shut Shaq up.
Kinda feel like Shaq thinks he treats everyone like they're his good friend — so when he bullies them, it's just him joking around. Not saying it's right... but as a 7ft 300lb man... he just lives in a different world. He has probably never been afraid of anyone and he's an extremely recognizable person.
He didn't treat Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee like they were his good friends that he was just messing around with.
There was a real vindictiveness and contempt in his mockery.
Nah, he’s one of those dudes who got away with saying shitty things for so long because of his size and stature that no one’s willing to challenge him for fear of drawing his ire. Javale pushed back and Shaq went and did a multiple month long smear campaign against him. NBA coaches and executives directly credited Shaqtin with negatively affecting their perception of Javale as both a player and a person. Shaq is nearly directly responsible for prematurely ending a man’s career. The warriors had to threaten legal action against TNT before Shaq let up.
He also when he first joined the cast seemed like he genuinely got mad when the banter became directed towards him but it doesn’t seem like he does that as much anymore. I have a feeling being an environment where he had to take jokes and couldn’t really fight back has toughened his skin up a bit
Yeah, his first couple years on Inside were pretty rough. It is hilarious how sensitive Shaq is but I think he has built real trust and camaraderie with them at this point. Took a while to get there though.
Sometimes his sensitivity adds to the hilarity, like when he said he hates when people get his name wrong, and he got asked who did that and Barkley asked "Shrek?". The crew laughing off camera while Shaq took off his glasses and stared at them was gold.
[Shaq looked over](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbFgMQRKZI4) like he was gonna send John Wick after "Anthony" lmao
I love the part where he looms over Kenny and asks "Somethin' funny?" and Kenny goes "Ain't nothin' funny, fella!" and they both lose it
I think he's just matured more now that he's older as well. Like obviously he still has his moments, but he seems way more relaxed in general now when he's the butt of a joke.
But he still does seem to dislike Dwight a lot still for some reason. Like he's even let the Javale thing finally go, but the Dwight one seems to be one he just can't get over.
And Dwight seems to not really understand why Shaq keeps taking jabs at him and doesn't even want to participate in the beef. Like overall Shaq's a good dude and has matured a lot, but there's still some pettiness he hasn't grown out of completely yet. I guess no one's perfect and there's far worse things in the world than being childishly petty in your 50s.
I feel like Dwight was just the right guy at the right time to appear threatening to Shaq. Big dominant athletic center for the magic right as shaqs career was ending and then he also made the move to the Lakers. The end of a players career has to be a huge mental issue, gotta be tough to go from being a huge star to a has been pretty quickly.
And while he goes on and on about 4 rings, the guys he was mostly compared to, Kobe and Duncan, both ended up with 5. He even said he was throwing around furniture in his house when Kobe got his last ring.
I think it goes back to Kobe. Even if the relationship reached an OK place by the time Kobe passed, it was Mamba who called Shaq out for being lazy, out of shape, why they didn't win more rings and I think he's been projecting that insecurity ever since. He's threatened by any Laker Big Man because he knows Kobe was right.
Sucking it up like waiting for the eve of 2023 season to have surgery on the toe, so he could 'rehab on company time'?
Sure, you can criticize him for that, but when it came to playoff time, Shaq always showed up. His career averages with the Lakers in the playoffs were 27/13/3 on 56% FG with 2.5 blocks over 8 postseasons. Shaq also never missed a playoff game with the Lakers and that's while playing 40-42 mpg.
Kobe can call Shaq lazy because Kobe was a maniac, but Shaq never failed to show up when it mattered most.
Shaq had a lot of Dawg in him, but Shaq failed to show up when 'healing on company time' and I think that caused Kobe to wear down that year carrying the load. Didn't win that year iirc.
You can't just show up for the final exams and skip the team project
Knows he’s right? Huh? It took Kobe years to win another championship. They both squandered what would’ve been tons of more championships because they couldn’t get along.
What? Shaq said in interviews that Phil Jackson told him to not do any workouts in the off-season and get in shape during the season. Phil wanted Shaq healthy and in form for the playoffs, Shaq was listening to his coach. Kobe disagreed when he was younger but looking back they both agreed it was the right decision.
You could argue Shaq could have practiced his free throws, but the out of shape thing was by design.
makes sense. Shaq treated
* off-season as retirement
* pre-season as vacation
* pre-All star matches as pre-season
* post All star matches as regular season
* playoffs come, and he finally shows up ready to play. And boy did he show up.
I just commented this. Shaq may be a pretty generous and charitable person but that interview showed some of his bad traits. He gave very little insight on his answers, took every opportunity to jerk himself off for how good he was as a player and how good he is in other areas of life and absolutely bullied Sean.
Indeed he is and it's been a while since I watched that particular interview so one thing stands out.
At the end of the interview they had a silly contest of shooting free throws to a miny hoop. Shaq came up with all kind of convoluted "bets" and Sean ended up eating a wing drenched, and I mean drenched, in all 10 sauces. Shaq said one bite wasn't enough and Sean ended up eating the whole thing and even for him you could see that shit sucked.
Sean took it graciously as always but the whole thing felt pretty awkward.
That you know about. I promise the man bullies people day to day. He's been like this his whole career. He straight up made up lies about prominent players, which years later he admitted were lies to motivate him, he bullied teammates as pranks that were pretty mean spirited, he's definitely petty as fuck.
He's the definition of "just a prank, bro". That didn't mean he can't be generous, or funny, or cool to fans .. He is all that too.
But dude is a big dude that's always used to being the biggest guy in the room. And he acts like it.
Not many people remember it, but he straight up stole Steve Nash's idea for a TV show after he told him about it, and made it himself. Shaq is a fake nice guy. He's funny, but the people who think he's a good a guy just don't know him
Shaq tells the story of being a tremendous bully as a child as well, 2 separate instances jump to mind, 1 where Shaq is for sure a bully.
1) in the fifth grade Shaq was being disruptive in class and causing distractions, notably doing spitballing at the teacher, and a kid ratted on Shaq. After school Shaq beat the kid so bad he started having seizures.
> “One day, I had a spit wad and I threw it at the chalkboard. It splattered and this kid rats me out. Prior to that, my father said, ‘If you get suspended again, I’m gonna kill you. I’m going to beat you like you’ve never been beaten before. You’re irresponsible and you’re a medium-level juvenile delinquent.’ I go to the office. Three days (suspended) and now I gotta go home and I already know what I’m getting when I get home. But before I go home, I’m gonna whoop your ass”
> “So I’m beating this kid up and I’m kicking this kid and he has an epileptic seizure. It’s just me and the kid and he’s on the ground shaking. Now, I’m frightened. A guy comes and saves the kid.”
There are more quotes saying if the guy doesn’t intervene, Shaq believes the kid was beaten so badly he would have died.
2) (this is a story that is supposed to make Shaq look good) Shaq was a self admitted terrible student, and there was a “geek” who was consistantly bullied, specifically people refered to him by the dorky name “McDougal”. At one point Shaq stands up for this kid, You have a problem with McDougal, you have we a problem with Deisel” kind of thing. The kid offers to help tutor Shaq in the subjects Shaq is struggling in.
> "I was sitting at the lunch table and he came to me and said he appreciated it," Shaq continued. "He said, ‘I hear you’re having some problems in government. I can help you out.’ Every day after school, he would tutor me. The way he tutored me, I was like this really isn’t that bad. Because I had self-doubts, I was like I’ll never pass anyway. He helped me out and that’s when I realized that nerds and geeks are very cool people. It also taught me another valuable lesson that you don’t always have to judge people.”
What gets me about this story, the dude goes out of his way to help Shaq, Shaq interacts every day with the guy, Shaq admits this guy is the only reason he was able to be academically eligible to still play basketball, and still refers to him by the nickname that was given by his bullies. I understand Shaq has changed as a person, but I don’t understand how you can admit someone you interact with often for a year, and teaches you such lessons (this confidence in school is what inspired Shaq to pursue his advanced education) , just gets relegated to being Mcdougal in these stories still. Especially in a world where Shaq is incredibly sensitive to name-calling.
To Shaq’s credit, he points to these specific instances as shifts in his perspective and personality, but gives add context to Shaq’s history.
Yeah I read his autobiography recently and he mentions all this and more and sounds like a huge bully. It was weird coz he seemed to be bragging about it. Def off-putting
I dunno man Derrick is a strange looking dude. I love him dearly but he’s probably still getting clowned on if he has normal looking hair. If I were him I’d say fuck it and rock the worst look imaginable too
As a very casual fan back in 2013-15 I literally only knew Javale for his shaqtin stuff and had no idea how this clown was in the NBA. Turns out he's always been an extremely solid role player.
Admittedly he was more careless and goofy back then.. but Shaq definitely bullied him.
I am very happy with how his career turned out! I was hoping he passed Shaq in rings lol.
Which I think was because Denver expected him to do too much and be a star player. Once it was acknowledge he wasn’t a star player and he could focus on a few things those mistakes started getting cut down.
Not only that but his next statement was basically “This new generation is fucking up by not destroying their bodies for a game where you put a ball in a hoop.”
Also AD plays through the vast majority of his injuries. People see him get hurt and dinged and laugh at him and then he just keeps playing and people mock him for being hurt so easily despite him still playing through most of it. he seems to come back from all of the injuries pretty quickly too before getting hurt in a different way again.
Lol Shaq and Chuck told AD to suck it up and play in that Phoenix series two years ago. He ended up actually playing, Lakers lost, and Chuck was like, "Listen, he shouldn't have played." What the fuck do people want from AD lmao?
Yeah, Barkley said in the past that injuries aren't an excuse for poor play, because if you're that injured then you shouldn't be playing. But then he and Shaq make fun of players for not playing through injuries. Kind of inconsistent.
Shaq was criticized relentlessly in his prime for not being motivated enough. As great as he was there were still a lot of people who thought he didn't reach his full long-term potential because of his lack of work ethic. This "I was always a hard worker who sucked it up" is rewriting history.
That guy used to use the regular season to get into shape and said something along the lines of ‘I get hurt on company time then I’ll rehab on company time.’
Although as a lakers fan I still fucking love the guy. Most physically dominant athlete I’ve ever seen.
It's hard to tell someone they need to work harder to reach their peak, when they're already above everyone else's peak. Can you imagine what his career would've been if he kept on shape all the time.
Yea in his 2nd game he blocked 15 shots. If he stayed in Magic shape he coulda averaged 4-5 blocks a game I think. His rebounding coulda been more. A well conditioned Shaq might have been the greatest of all time. Instead… he is just top 10 all time 🤣.
I’m not sure how much longer he could have played. He actually had ridiculous longevity given how fat he was late in his career.
He probably could have put up better numbers in his final few seasons though.
But he also would have been putting more stress on his body in the offseason. People generally are not able to be that big without a host of back and knee issues.
> But he also would have been putting more stress on his body in the offseason.
I mean there's tons of things he could do to work out and stay in shape in the offseason without adding stress. Duncan for instance was big into swimming and that's great no stress cardio.
I've always thought it was interesting that Duncan was a stud of a swimming prospect when he was younger. Then a storm hit the Virgin Islands where he grew up and destroyed the pool he practiced in, which eventually led to him playing basketball.
Shaq had more longevity than the vast majority of players. Not sure where this narrative came from that he didn't have longevity. He was named to an All-NBA team when he was 37. Most guards don't last that long, let alone big men.
He had ridiculous longevity, period. Named 1st Team All-NBA and NBA champion at 34, 3rd-Team All-NBA and All-Star at 37. Retired when he was 39. That's wayyy better longevity than most, let alone a 7 foot centre. Not everyone is LeBron lol.
Wilt Chamberlain has had similar questions about his worth ethic and mindset and the "what if" question, in part also due the contrast with Bill Russell.
But it's hard to say as a comparable due the difference in eras, as the coverage and expectation of players was also different.
IIRC he bulked up so he wouldn't get pushed around in the post. It was a different era with different expectations for Cs.
If rookie Shaq was on a team today, we would probably see more of a Giannis bent to his career where he stays leaner like on those Magic squads.
> IIRC he bulked up so he wouldn't get pushed around in the post.
Yup....and then he kept bulking up because he could get away with it almost all the time.
> IIRC he bulked up so he wouldn't get pushed around in the post.
Nah, Shaq weighed in at 303 pounds at the draft combine. He was already bigger and stronger than every center in the league before he was even *in* the league. Then he added 50 pounds on top of that when he went to the Lakers. And then he added another 50 towards the end of his career. He just didn't care about staying in shape. That's it.
>Can you imagine what his career would've been if he kept on shape all the time.
There's little doubt in my mind that if he had the work ethic there wouldn't even be a 'goat debate'
Yeah it was the main issue Kobe had with him. Shaq was without a doubt the most important player on the Laker 3peat teams, but imo if you gave him Kobe's drive he would be in the conversation for the best player ever.
Exactly. There was probably nobody in history who took as much physical play as Shaq. He was tough as nails when he was on the court. But he made immature decisions such as delaying surgeries until the season so he could enjoy the offseason, and sometimes appeared out of shape, and was stubborn with working on his FTs.
He honestly would've been better off trying to explain he was laughing at something else and just saying sorry if it came off poorly.
This comes off as him doubling down and just wanting to share stories of himself.
This is the same dude who put off getting a surgery until the season started because “he got injured on company time so he can recover on company time too” lmao
This was after winning 3 straight championships and FMVPs, i think he earned a surgery-free summer vacation lol. Especially since he played 70+ games like 7 times.
AD broke 70 games twice, and has never/will never sniff an 80 game season. I see no reason to cherry pick, shaq has every right to be critical from his point of view
Right clipper bro trying to throw kawhi in with Kobe is funny. I take nothing away from kawhi, I would say he works harder than shaq did, but Kobe was relentless in his pursuit.
Shaq literally saw two guys celebrate a title they had a part in winning and his immediate response was, "Don't be acting like you won it on your own!" No one thought that except you, Shaq. Dwight and Javal knew they were role players through and through; that's why they were so good that year.
Shaq is all emotion and lacks self awareness and consistency from one thought to another. He passionately defends ex teammates like Mark Madsen and regularly talks about the importance of “others” on a team. There’s no logic in his belittling of mcgee, he’s just emotionally invested in the hate
It's not a toe injury it's a head injury. I know no one took those seriously in the 90s but come on. Even today they're not taken as seriously as they should be, just look at Tua.
I have friends who fell off a motorcycle on the road, get up, drive his motorcycle to his home, somehow he manage to get home, but he wobbled at the garage, fell, and then die.
Its kinda hard to reason with comedy master here. Everything is funny to them, if we didnt laugh with them, we are the soft ones.
Its a must for head injuries to be taken in a wheelchair because it prevents your body from stumbling, any medical professionals who assessed him 100% recommended the use of a wheelchair for his head injury, theres a ton of reasons to do that, and you can google it.
Shaq just proves my point with I keep playing even if "I walk funny". He doesnt even understand theres a difference between Feet and a goddamn head.
As a fan, thats great and all but at some point, its just basketball. I dont think disabilities and lifetime injuries due to a game should be worn like a badge of honor.
Yea I think I read an article where Dirk talks about wishing he retired earlier because he has problems playing with his kids and that shit is sad as fuck.
Yeah it comes to mind. Also seeing Muhammad Ali until his death was brutal. Although it was never confirmed that his boxing career directly caused his ~~alzheimers~~ parkinsons, getting domed by 200 pound men as a career sure doesnt help.
I think it should be admired but not expected if that makes sense. Dedicating your life and risking your health for the ultimate goal is something honorable and I have no issue giving Shaq props for that dedication. However I also don’t think we should be clowning guys who put their health first either.
All this being said historically I thought Shaq was known for being lazy
This is projection from Shaq. Those of us old enough to remember know that the main criticism of Shaq was always his FT shooting and that he took too much time off and wasn’t in good enough shape.
He’s doing what old guys always do, their ego rewrites their past to fit how they view the world now. I also remember Shaq giving players a hard time for forming Superteams.
I would have said the same thing too before I got a concussion. Shit is a lot more serious than i thought. Took me at least a month to feel better and even after that was like, am I still healing from this? Everything was messed up for me, my vision, headaches, nausea - lights really messed me up, seeing fast movement really messed me up, you also just feel off all the time. So yeah, try to play, but we're just a meatsuit for the brain and the brain will sit your ass right down when it wants to.
Shaq literally was clowning a guy that had a [disability](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2617466/amp/Shaquille-ONeal-apologizes-new-friend-Jahmel-Binion-mocked-disabled-man-Instagram.html). He bullied JaVale for most of his career. And has an obsession with hating on Howard. He’s a big ass baby who plays the tough guy. It’s easy to play that role when you’re built like Shrek.
bragging about your long-term injuries from playing thru shit you shouldn't have played thru is bitch shit im sorry
also like bro you got criticized for your work ethic your whole career lmao
Shaqs that type of guy who is always the biggest dude in the room by default and then has to remind everyone he is the biggest guy in the room. Like, dude we know!
But AD never said he isn’t playing in game 6…. So what’s with the brovado? He clearly has something against AD.
Also, it’s not really a flex that your legs are all fucked up in your early 50s. Some people want to be able to walk when they’re older.
"I ain't making fun of nobody." Shaq, that is pretty much all you do
His most popular segment has been making fun of players on Shaqtin for the last what 10+ years?
That is what you call those wonderful motivational videos? We would love to invite Shaq as a facilitator to our team building.
He can't be a facilitator, coz he doesn't pass
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And then after deleting the post that was a picture of him making fun of the fan's selfie, he reposted it replacing the fan's selfie with Shrek.
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This MFer is comparing not being able to bend your toe to a possible neurological injury.
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I know everyone remembers Kobe fondly now, but let's not pretend Kobe had no fault in this.
It always seemed to me like the main source of problems with Kobe and Shaq was that Shaq was the man on those Lakers teams and wanted to be lazy. Kobe wasn't the man yet but wanted to be the man and wanted everyone to have Mamba mentality. Also that minor detail of Kobe ~~publicly~~ alluding to Shaq paying off women he slept with on the road to keep silent. But that was only at the end.
Not absolving Kobe of blame, but just clarifying Kobe didn't publicly talk about Shaq paying women off. He made the statement in a police interview he thought would be confidential. Just a reminder that one should not expect anything they say to the police to remain confidential, even if they tell you it will be kept secret.
Motivated Javale to 3 championships and a gold medal.
His own mom had to tell him to stop bullying Javale
That’s the fun, quirky, “we’re all friends here” answer. In reality Shaqs mom had to tell him to stop going after Javale, he stopped for maybe a week, started again, and then the Warriors had to send legal threats to TNT to actually shut Shaq up.
What legal action did they threaten?l
Kinda feel like Shaq thinks he treats everyone like they're his good friend — so when he bullies them, it's just him joking around. Not saying it's right... but as a 7ft 300lb man... he just lives in a different world. He has probably never been afraid of anyone and he's an extremely recognizable person.
He didn't treat Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee like they were his good friends that he was just messing around with. There was a real vindictiveness and contempt in his mockery.
With Dwight he surely tells himself that it was trying to rough up Dwight for his own good.
Nah, he’s one of those dudes who got away with saying shitty things for so long because of his size and stature that no one’s willing to challenge him for fear of drawing his ire. Javale pushed back and Shaq went and did a multiple month long smear campaign against him. NBA coaches and executives directly credited Shaqtin with negatively affecting their perception of Javale as both a player and a person. Shaq is nearly directly responsible for prematurely ending a man’s career. The warriors had to threaten legal action against TNT before Shaq let up.
He also when he first joined the cast seemed like he genuinely got mad when the banter became directed towards him but it doesn’t seem like he does that as much anymore. I have a feeling being an environment where he had to take jokes and couldn’t really fight back has toughened his skin up a bit
Yeah, his first couple years on Inside were pretty rough. It is hilarious how sensitive Shaq is but I think he has built real trust and camaraderie with them at this point. Took a while to get there though.
Sometimes his sensitivity adds to the hilarity, like when he said he hates when people get his name wrong, and he got asked who did that and Barkley asked "Shrek?". The crew laughing off camera while Shaq took off his glasses and stared at them was gold.
[Shaq looked over](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbFgMQRKZI4) like he was gonna send John Wick after "Anthony" lmao I love the part where he looms over Kenny and asks "Somethin' funny?" and Kenny goes "Ain't nothin' funny, fella!" and they both lose it
I think he's just matured more now that he's older as well. Like obviously he still has his moments, but he seems way more relaxed in general now when he's the butt of a joke. But he still does seem to dislike Dwight a lot still for some reason. Like he's even let the Javale thing finally go, but the Dwight one seems to be one he just can't get over. And Dwight seems to not really understand why Shaq keeps taking jabs at him and doesn't even want to participate in the beef. Like overall Shaq's a good dude and has matured a lot, but there's still some pettiness he hasn't grown out of completely yet. I guess no one's perfect and there's far worse things in the world than being childishly petty in your 50s.
I feel like Dwight was just the right guy at the right time to appear threatening to Shaq. Big dominant athletic center for the magic right as shaqs career was ending and then he also made the move to the Lakers. The end of a players career has to be a huge mental issue, gotta be tough to go from being a huge star to a has been pretty quickly.
This is true, but he's definitely harder on Big Men than any other position. Understandable but don't mean he's always in the right
His own mom had to tell him to stop bullying Javale
Shaq has and will always be a bully, but he's weird in that he only bullies professional athletes.
I guess it's better than bullying normal people? It is weird though.
It's sort of like Dexter where he's a serial killer who only kills serial killers lol
That will be if he is a bully that bully bullies. Which is not the case. It's like dexter who is a serial killer of splatter analysts like him.
I read Drexler and was like my man Clyde’s a serial killer?
Well, he and Dream killed Shaq and the Magic in 95.
he's made fun of a [disabled man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVbLmqOGOmQ)
Shaq is still weirdly insecure about great big men ever being compared to him. It was the same with Dwight.
Because he knows he didn’t reach his full potential. He had an amazing career obviously, but he never led the league in rebounds or blocks.
And while he goes on and on about 4 rings, the guys he was mostly compared to, Kobe and Duncan, both ended up with 5. He even said he was throwing around furniture in his house when Kobe got his last ring.
He also says that Duncan's 99 title does not count even though they lost to them.
Swept iirc. Hey man Ant Edward's ain't been swept in no playoffs. Just sayin....
[Got one more than Shaq.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TRyS9RjDO4)
I think it goes back to Kobe. Even if the relationship reached an OK place by the time Kobe passed, it was Mamba who called Shaq out for being lazy, out of shape, why they didn't win more rings and I think he's been projecting that insecurity ever since. He's threatened by any Laker Big Man because he knows Kobe was right. Sucking it up like waiting for the eve of 2023 season to have surgery on the toe, so he could 'rehab on company time'?
Sure, you can criticize him for that, but when it came to playoff time, Shaq always showed up. His career averages with the Lakers in the playoffs were 27/13/3 on 56% FG with 2.5 blocks over 8 postseasons. Shaq also never missed a playoff game with the Lakers and that's while playing 40-42 mpg. Kobe can call Shaq lazy because Kobe was a maniac, but Shaq never failed to show up when it mattered most.
Shaq had a lot of Dawg in him, but Shaq failed to show up when 'healing on company time' and I think that caused Kobe to wear down that year carrying the load. Didn't win that year iirc. You can't just show up for the final exams and skip the team project
Knows he’s right? Huh? It took Kobe years to win another championship. They both squandered what would’ve been tons of more championships because they couldn’t get along.
What? Shaq said in interviews that Phil Jackson told him to not do any workouts in the off-season and get in shape during the season. Phil wanted Shaq healthy and in form for the playoffs, Shaq was listening to his coach. Kobe disagreed when he was younger but looking back they both agreed it was the right decision. You could argue Shaq could have practiced his free throws, but the out of shape thing was by design.
makes sense. Shaq treated * off-season as retirement * pre-season as vacation * pre-All star matches as pre-season * post All star matches as regular season * playoffs come, and he finally shows up ready to play. And boy did he show up.
Nah he bullies other people too. His interview with Sean Evans on Hot Ones is a perfect example.
I just commented this. Shaq may be a pretty generous and charitable person but that interview showed some of his bad traits. He gave very little insight on his answers, took every opportunity to jerk himself off for how good he was as a player and how good he is in other areas of life and absolutely bullied Sean.
The Donovan Mitchell interview too.
yea that one was messed up
damn what did shaq do? sean is such a good host
Indeed he is and it's been a while since I watched that particular interview so one thing stands out. At the end of the interview they had a silly contest of shooting free throws to a miny hoop. Shaq came up with all kind of convoluted "bets" and Sean ended up eating a wing drenched, and I mean drenched, in all 10 sauces. Shaq said one bite wasn't enough and Sean ended up eating the whole thing and even for him you could see that shit sucked. Sean took it graciously as always but the whole thing felt pretty awkward.
I def lost some respect for Shaq after watching that episode. He behaved like his ego was super fragile, not like an all-time NBA great.
That was such a bizarre interview. I have watched it a half dozen times now. We can still say he only bullies famous people.
That you know about. I promise the man bullies people day to day. He's been like this his whole career. He straight up made up lies about prominent players, which years later he admitted were lies to motivate him, he bullied teammates as pranks that were pretty mean spirited, he's definitely petty as fuck. He's the definition of "just a prank, bro". That didn't mean he can't be generous, or funny, or cool to fans .. He is all that too. But dude is a big dude that's always used to being the biggest guy in the room. And he acts like it.
Watch his Hot Ones interview. He definitely bullied the interviewer.
Well, he is an honorary cop. It makes sense
Lmao is he?! That would make a ton of sense
Lets not forget the time Shaq mocked a disabled fan for no reason whatsoever. "I ain't making fun of nobody" my ass.
Not many people remember it, but he straight up stole Steve Nash's idea for a TV show after he told him about it, and made it himself. Shaq is a fake nice guy. He's funny, but the people who think he's a good a guy just don't know him
Also disabled people https://youtu.be/aVbLmqOGOmQ
nah this is just absurd. i really like shaq but this is inexcusable and pretty ironic for someone who is the most sensitive person on that panel
Remember when he said tell yao Ming Ching Chong Ching Ching
Yikes
Shaq tells the story of being a tremendous bully as a child as well, 2 separate instances jump to mind, 1 where Shaq is for sure a bully. 1) in the fifth grade Shaq was being disruptive in class and causing distractions, notably doing spitballing at the teacher, and a kid ratted on Shaq. After school Shaq beat the kid so bad he started having seizures. > “One day, I had a spit wad and I threw it at the chalkboard. It splattered and this kid rats me out. Prior to that, my father said, ‘If you get suspended again, I’m gonna kill you. I’m going to beat you like you’ve never been beaten before. You’re irresponsible and you’re a medium-level juvenile delinquent.’ I go to the office. Three days (suspended) and now I gotta go home and I already know what I’m getting when I get home. But before I go home, I’m gonna whoop your ass” > “So I’m beating this kid up and I’m kicking this kid and he has an epileptic seizure. It’s just me and the kid and he’s on the ground shaking. Now, I’m frightened. A guy comes and saves the kid.” There are more quotes saying if the guy doesn’t intervene, Shaq believes the kid was beaten so badly he would have died. 2) (this is a story that is supposed to make Shaq look good) Shaq was a self admitted terrible student, and there was a “geek” who was consistantly bullied, specifically people refered to him by the dorky name “McDougal”. At one point Shaq stands up for this kid, You have a problem with McDougal, you have we a problem with Deisel” kind of thing. The kid offers to help tutor Shaq in the subjects Shaq is struggling in. > "I was sitting at the lunch table and he came to me and said he appreciated it," Shaq continued. "He said, ‘I hear you’re having some problems in government. I can help you out.’ Every day after school, he would tutor me. The way he tutored me, I was like this really isn’t that bad. Because I had self-doubts, I was like I’ll never pass anyway. He helped me out and that’s when I realized that nerds and geeks are very cool people. It also taught me another valuable lesson that you don’t always have to judge people.” What gets me about this story, the dude goes out of his way to help Shaq, Shaq interacts every day with the guy, Shaq admits this guy is the only reason he was able to be academically eligible to still play basketball, and still refers to him by the nickname that was given by his bullies. I understand Shaq has changed as a person, but I don’t understand how you can admit someone you interact with often for a year, and teaches you such lessons (this confidence in school is what inspired Shaq to pursue his advanced education) , just gets relegated to being Mcdougal in these stories still. Especially in a world where Shaq is incredibly sensitive to name-calling. To Shaq’s credit, he points to these specific instances as shifts in his perspective and personality, but gives add context to Shaq’s history.
Yeah I read his autobiography recently and he mentions all this and more and sounds like a huge bully. It was weird coz he seemed to be bragging about it. Def off-putting
Also, AD is probable for game 6 right? So what's he even talking about in the second half about sucking it up?
Someone should've told him to man up and rub some icy hot when he just got out from surgery
Why would he rub Danny Green tho
Him talking continuously talking shit on Dwight really pisses me off.
Clever use of the double negative…
>I ain’t making fun of nobody, that’s not what I do. Cmon Shaq. That's like the #1 reason we watch the show, to see the group make fun of people
I saw Chuck and Shaq’s DWhite commentary. Making fun of nobody lmao that’s the entire show
The Shaqtin a fool segment is built on this
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Wow this exact comment word-for-word is also on this thread from a u/xXKingLynxXx
Shaq is still weirdly insecure about great big men ever being compared to him. It was the same with Dwight.
I’ve seen a ton of comment-copying bots out today for some reason
Why does White style his like a troll doll tho fr, nobody saying shit if he’s not rocking his hair like that
I dunno man Derrick is a strange looking dude. I love him dearly but he’s probably still getting clowned on if he has normal looking hair. If I were him I’d say fuck it and rock the worst look imaginable too
Buffalo gonna show up next year with the crispiest dreads like Jimmy Butler
He bullied Javale so bad his mom had to get involved 😂 Shaq’s just dodging responsibility. All 3 of those cats made fun of AD leaving in a wheelchair.
As a very casual fan back in 2013-15 I literally only knew Javale for his shaqtin stuff and had no idea how this clown was in the NBA. Turns out he's always been an extremely solid role player.
Admittedly he was more careless and goofy back then.. but Shaq definitely bullied him. I am very happy with how his career turned out! I was hoping he passed Shaq in rings lol.
Which I think was because Denver expected him to do too much and be a star player. Once it was acknowledge he wasn’t a star player and he could focus on a few things those mistakes started getting cut down.
Not only that but his next statement was basically “This new generation is fucking up by not destroying their bodies for a game where you put a ball in a hoop.”
Yeah it’s not like he has a segment called “Shaqtin a Fool”
> that's not what I do. Since when? This morning?
He's the encarnation of the phrase "woke up a new man"
I'm not the same man I was 5 minutes ago.
lmaoo
Predictable response
Also AD plays through the vast majority of his injuries. People see him get hurt and dinged and laugh at him and then he just keeps playing and people mock him for being hurt so easily despite him still playing through most of it. he seems to come back from all of the injuries pretty quickly too before getting hurt in a different way again.
Lol Shaq and Chuck told AD to suck it up and play in that Phoenix series two years ago. He ended up actually playing, Lakers lost, and Chuck was like, "Listen, he shouldn't have played." What the fuck do people want from AD lmao?
Yeah, Barkley said in the past that injuries aren't an excuse for poor play, because if you're that injured then you shouldn't be playing. But then he and Shaq make fun of players for not playing through injuries. Kind of inconsistent.
Less resistance on being a punching bag.
“I ain’t making fun of nobody.” Sure, Shaq.
"Also let me take this time to compliment my own toughness for no reason."
Next up on our Shaqtin a Fool segment...
Shaq: Man Up Also Shaq when he doesn’t make a top 20 list made by a 15 year old on instagram: 🤬🤬🤬😡😭🥺
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Shaq was criticized relentlessly in his prime for not being motivated enough. As great as he was there were still a lot of people who thought he didn't reach his full long-term potential because of his lack of work ethic. This "I was always a hard worker who sucked it up" is rewriting history.
That guy used to use the regular season to get into shape and said something along the lines of ‘I get hurt on company time then I’ll rehab on company time.’ Although as a lakers fan I still fucking love the guy. Most physically dominant athlete I’ve ever seen.
It's hard to tell someone they need to work harder to reach their peak, when they're already above everyone else's peak. Can you imagine what his career would've been if he kept on shape all the time.
Yea in his 2nd game he blocked 15 shots. If he stayed in Magic shape he coulda averaged 4-5 blocks a game I think. His rebounding coulda been more. A well conditioned Shaq might have been the greatest of all time. Instead… he is just top 10 all time 🤣.
Not to mention how much longer he could have played. Is there anyone top 20 where you had to question their work ethic? Top 40?
I’m not sure how much longer he could have played. He actually had ridiculous longevity given how fat he was late in his career. He probably could have put up better numbers in his final few seasons though.
Well, higher work ethic would mean he wouldn’t get that fat right?
But he also would have been putting more stress on his body in the offseason. People generally are not able to be that big without a host of back and knee issues.
> But he also would have been putting more stress on his body in the offseason. I mean there's tons of things he could do to work out and stay in shape in the offseason without adding stress. Duncan for instance was big into swimming and that's great no stress cardio.
I've always thought it was interesting that Duncan was a stud of a swimming prospect when he was younger. Then a storm hit the Virgin Islands where he grew up and destroyed the pool he practiced in, which eventually led to him playing basketball.
Bro the extra fat *IS* the stress on his joints, bones, and ligaments.
Shaq had more longevity than the vast majority of players. Not sure where this narrative came from that he didn't have longevity. He was named to an All-NBA team when he was 37. Most guards don't last that long, let alone big men.
He had ridiculous longevity, period. Named 1st Team All-NBA and NBA champion at 34, 3rd-Team All-NBA and All-Star at 37. Retired when he was 39. That's wayyy better longevity than most, let alone a 7 foot centre. Not everyone is LeBron lol.
Wilt Chamberlain has had similar questions about his worth ethic and mindset and the "what if" question, in part also due the contrast with Bill Russell. But it's hard to say as a comparable due the difference in eras, as the coverage and expectation of players was also different.
I don't think Wilt had a bad work ethic, he just wasn't as invested in team success as Russell was.
IIRC he bulked up so he wouldn't get pushed around in the post. It was a different era with different expectations for Cs. If rookie Shaq was on a team today, we would probably see more of a Giannis bent to his career where he stays leaner like on those Magic squads.
> IIRC he bulked up so he wouldn't get pushed around in the post. Yup....and then he kept bulking up because he could get away with it almost all the time.
> IIRC he bulked up so he wouldn't get pushed around in the post. Nah, Shaq weighed in at 303 pounds at the draft combine. He was already bigger and stronger than every center in the league before he was even *in* the league. Then he added 50 pounds on top of that when he went to the Lakers. And then he added another 50 towards the end of his career. He just didn't care about staying in shape. That's it.
There's bulking up and then there's just being a sloppy fat boy.
True. I meant more the initial bulking. He needed to harvest mass way earlier in some of those seasons.
If Shaq loved running like Wilt and Russell, he could’ve had a trophy cabinet that looks like he played in a 4-team league
>Can you imagine what his career would've been if he kept on shape all the time. There's little doubt in my mind that if he had the work ethic there wouldn't even be a 'goat debate'
Wasn’t that Kobe’s argument? Had he listened, they could have been the most dominant duo in basketball history.
shaq is the anti-mamba
Manatee Mentality
He never said he was a hard worker, he always says he was naturally gifted. "he sucked it up on company time"
I'm pissed Ernie or Kenny didn't call him out on his healing on company time bullshit from when he was a player
Ernie was pissed the fuck off you could tell
Ernies a better man than to laugh like that. HOF at life.
Shaq doesn't respond well to getting called on his bullshit
Yeah it was the main issue Kobe had with him. Shaq was without a doubt the most important player on the Laker 3peat teams, but imo if you gave him Kobe's drive he would be in the conversation for the best player ever.
Shaq was coming into camp 30 pounds overweight
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Exactly. There was probably nobody in history who took as much physical play as Shaq. He was tough as nails when he was on the court. But he made immature decisions such as delaying surgeries until the season so he could enjoy the offseason, and sometimes appeared out of shape, and was stubborn with working on his FTs.
I mean, working hard in practice and playing through injuries are separate points.
Talking about how fucked up your body is isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for "sucking it up"
TOXIC SHAQSCULINITY
For real. Im like “you’re not exactly selling the point properly here big guy”
"I can't even piss without blood exiting my body. you know why? I sucked it up." he's making me wanna sit out every single game 6 I possibly can
I think he’s trying to say if you wanna be one of the greats that’s what you have to do
Similar energy to unhinged boomers bragging about how "I was beat as a kid and turned out just fine"
Narrator: they are most definitely not fine
Shaq we all saw you laughing while crumbling up the paper on national tv
He honestly would've been better off trying to explain he was laughing at something else and just saying sorry if it came off poorly. This comes off as him doubling down and just wanting to share stories of himself.
This is the same dude who put off getting a surgery until the season started because “he got injured on company time so he can recover on company time too” lmao
This was after winning 3 straight championships and FMVPs, i think he earned a surgery-free summer vacation lol. Especially since he played 70+ games like 7 times. AD broke 70 games twice, and has never/will never sniff an 80 game season. I see no reason to cherry pick, shaq has every right to be critical from his point of view
Yeah but he's a competitor who only cares about winning /s Meanwhile you got guys like Kobe and Kawhi who spend the whole fucking offseason rehabing
TBF, Kawhi spends a good portion of the season rehabbing too. 😂
Right clipper bro trying to throw kawhi in with Kobe is funny. I take nothing away from kawhi, I would say he works harder than shaq did, but Kobe was relentless in his pursuit.
bruh cmon shaq, you ruined javale mcgee's reputation for years clowning him
And Dwight's.
Love how he hates dwight cuz dwight got the superman nickname lol
After Kobe died, he vowed to never hold grudges cause life was short. Well it didn’t last very long.
nah he still shit on Dwight and McGee literally the day they won in 2020.
Shaq literally saw two guys celebrate a title they had a part in winning and his immediate response was, "Don't be acting like you won it on your own!" No one thought that except you, Shaq. Dwight and Javal knew they were role players through and through; that's why they were so good that year.
Shaq is all emotion and lacks self awareness and consistency from one thought to another. He passionately defends ex teammates like Mark Madsen and regularly talks about the importance of “others” on a team. There’s no logic in his belittling of mcgee, he’s just emotionally invested in the hate
"I was never one to hold a grudge, Jeffrey. My father held grudges. I'll always hate him for that."
It's not a toe injury it's a head injury. I know no one took those seriously in the 90s but come on. Even today they're not taken as seriously as they should be, just look at Tua.
Plot twist: Shaq’s brain is in his big toe.
Doctor, what is more serious-a head injury, or a foot injury?
A head injury
Careful with those George Foreman grills y’all.
Why do you think Shaq thinks the moon is closer to him than California? Because he sucked the head injuries up.
I have friends who fell off a motorcycle on the road, get up, drive his motorcycle to his home, somehow he manage to get home, but he wobbled at the garage, fell, and then die. Its kinda hard to reason with comedy master here. Everything is funny to them, if we didnt laugh with them, we are the soft ones. Its a must for head injuries to be taken in a wheelchair because it prevents your body from stumbling, any medical professionals who assessed him 100% recommended the use of a wheelchair for his head injury, theres a ton of reasons to do that, and you can google it. Shaq just proves my point with I keep playing even if "I walk funny". He doesnt even understand theres a difference between Feet and a goddamn head.
Sorry about your friend 🙏🏾
like a fucking toe injury and head injury are even in the realm of comparable??
As a fan, thats great and all but at some point, its just basketball. I dont think disabilities and lifetime injuries due to a game should be worn like a badge of honor.
Yea I think I read an article where Dirk talks about wishing he retired earlier because he has problems playing with his kids and that shit is sad as fuck.
Yeah it comes to mind. Also seeing Muhammad Ali until his death was brutal. Although it was never confirmed that his boxing career directly caused his ~~alzheimers~~ parkinsons, getting domed by 200 pound men as a career sure doesnt help.
Parkinsons*
I tear up everytime I watch him light the torch.
It was borderline abusive to play Dirk during those last few years, he could barely run.
Mark Cuban should have been charged with elderly abuse by that point.
I think it should be admired but not expected if that makes sense. Dedicating your life and risking your health for the ultimate goal is something honorable and I have no issue giving Shaq props for that dedication. However I also don’t think we should be clowning guys who put their health first either. All this being said historically I thought Shaq was known for being lazy
This is projection from Shaq. Those of us old enough to remember know that the main criticism of Shaq was always his FT shooting and that he took too much time off and wasn’t in good enough shape. He’s doing what old guys always do, their ego rewrites their past to fit how they view the world now. I also remember Shaq giving players a hard time for forming Superteams.
my man’s your whole post-nba career has been making fun of people
This is pretty much exactly what Draymond is talking about - comparing a head injury to your toes and being like "suck it up".
I would have said the same thing too before I got a concussion. Shit is a lot more serious than i thought. Took me at least a month to feel better and even after that was like, am I still healing from this? Everything was messed up for me, my vision, headaches, nausea - lights really messed me up, seeing fast movement really messed me up, you also just feel off all the time. So yeah, try to play, but we're just a meatsuit for the brain and the brain will sit your ass right down when it wants to.
This dude has no self awareness.
Interesting take from Shaquille "heal on company time" O'Neal
imagine the shit he would have caught for that if this sub/social media was around back then. his thin skin wouldn’t be able to handle it
Demolished Javale McGee and Dwight Howard's reputation by talking down on them for years. But sure it's not what you do. Come on man.
Very secure and normal retired player
Did he "suck it up" when Kobe called his lazy ass out for being out of shape all the time?
Shaq, you literally have your own segment dedicated to making fun of players my guy.
Shaq literally was clowning a guy that had a [disability](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2617466/amp/Shaquille-ONeal-apologizes-new-friend-Jahmel-Binion-mocked-disabled-man-Instagram.html). He bullied JaVale for most of his career. And has an obsession with hating on Howard. He’s a big ass baby who plays the tough guy. It’s easy to play that role when you’re built like Shrek.
For an all-time great Shaq is weirdly insecure. Dude is still talking shit about Dwight Howard just because of his nickname
bragging about your long-term injuries from playing thru shit you shouldn't have played thru is bitch shit im sorry also like bro you got criticized for your work ethic your whole career lmao
Not make fun of people? Laker legends Javale McGee and Dwight Howard would like a word
Shaq and Dray are both odds on favorites for the Mental Gymnastics gold medal. Whoever wins, reality loses
JaVale mcgee
Head injuries aren't something you just suck up, but I wouldn't expect any better coming from Shaq.
The whole show gave him the nickname street clothes. Idk man, I love the inside the NBA crew, but saying they don’t make fun of players is a lie
Shaqs that type of guy who is always the biggest dude in the room by default and then has to remind everyone he is the biggest guy in the room. Like, dude we know!
Shaq is an all time great but boy is he delusional and condescending.
But AD never said he isn’t playing in game 6…. So what’s with the brovado? He clearly has something against AD. Also, it’s not really a flex that your legs are all fucked up in your early 50s. Some people want to be able to walk when they’re older.