Shaquille O’Neal remains a prominent figure and relevant star in the basketball world after about a decade in retirement. Fans of Shaq were treated to a superstar career on the court and his charismatic personality allowed him to shine outside of basketball. O’Neal dominated unlike any other player in the late 90s and early 2000s to win become the top big man of his era.
We will look at some of the rumors that still exist about his career full of questionable choices and successful moments. Shaq saw the league change a few rules due to his dominance as a four-time NBA Champion, three-time NBA Finals MVP and one-time NBA MVP. Quite a few stories and theories have floated around about his career. The rumors in question are the ones that O’Neal likely wants us to forget.
16 Got Stan Van Gundy fired
The Miami Heat made a few massive changes in the mid-2000s. Pat Riley traded some of his assets to acquire Shaquille O’Neal to pair with Dwyane Wade. Stan Van Gundy was removed as the head coach during the second season in favor of Riley. The belief of everyone involved was that Shaq hated Van Gundy’s coaching style to force the change.
15 Made up lies to hurt rival's reputations
Shaquille O’Neal made up an elaborate story about David Robinson during their competitive years against each other. The story claimed that Robinson refused to sign an autograph for O’Neal when the latter was in high school. Robinson denied it, but Shaq didn’t admit he was lying until he retired. The lie was done to play mind games since Robinson had the best reputation in the league.
14 Demanded a one on one game with Hakeem Olajuwon in anger
Hakeem Olajuwon was the first center to outplay Shaquille O’Neal in big games. The 1995 NBA Finals saw Olajuwon’s Houston Rockets sweeping Shaq’s Orlando Magic as the lower seed. O’Neal was adamant that he was the better overall player and challenged Olajuwon to a one on one game on PPV. Good luck finding a pettier NBA challenge!
13 Shaq Fu was meant to be a great game
The popularity of Shaquille O’Neal gave him the rare opportunity to have his own video game in the 90s called Shaq Fu. O’Neal as the lead character fighting his enemies was an idea expected to create huge success. Unfortunately, it was viewed as one of the worst video games of all-time. Shaq Fu became a cult hit in later years and was re-released for newer consoles.
12 Myth about Steve Nash stealing two MVPs from him
Shaquille O’Neal still complains about Steve Nash “stealing” two regular season MVP awards in 2005 and 2006. The 2005 win was debatable with both guys having fair arguments, but O’Neal was out of line for the second MVP claim. Shaq didn’t even make the top ten in MVP votes for 2006 since he missed a lot of time with injuries.
11 Influenced bad Kings trades
The presence of Shaquille O’Neal in the Sacramento Kings franchise sees him as a minority owner. O’Neal still keeps his broadcasting gigs, but he does sometimes offer advice to the Kings. Many fans speculated that Shaq criticizing DeMarcus Cousins after the Kings traded him showed he was part of the reason for the lackluster trade.
10 Planned to leave for Lakers are 1995 Finals loss
The 1995 NBA Finals broke the hearts of Orlando Magic fans wanting to become the new dynasty. Shaquille O’Neal led the charge defeating Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, but they were still swept in the finals by the Houston Rockets. Orlando saw O’Neal have one more year on the roster before leaving for the Los Angeles Lakers. Many beat writers felt Shaq wanted out from the second they lost the 1995 Finals.
9 Bryant Reeves had his number
The potential of Bryant Reeves would never get fulfilled in the NBA due to injuries. Reeves was never an All-Star caliber player, but he had an unlikely advantage over one legend. Shaquille O’Neal recently admitted in embarrassment that Reeves was the one guy he couldn’t stop who always put up big numbers against him.
8 Didn't care about missed free throws
The clash between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal saw Bryant upset with O’Neal over his lack of commitment. O’Neal’s free throw shooting was his biggest weakness to the point of opposing defenses intentionally fouling him. The mentality of Shaq claiming he hit free throws when they mattered showed how little he cared about improving the flaw in the regular season.
7 Used star power to threaten GMs
Shaquille O’Neal was viewed as one of the bigger NBA stars that used his power. The Orlando Magic tenure saw O’Neal put pressure on the franchise to draft Penny Hardaway and make a few other changes. Shaq did this with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat if he felt the GM was making the wrong decisions.
6 Would go against coach's plays when he wanted
The coaches of Shaquille O’Neal also struggled with the superstar’s greatness. O’Neal was so important to the team that he often ran his own plays in the post against the coach’s plans. One revelation recently was shared when Shaq revealed he hit his only career three-pointer by going against a coach’s play to intercept the pass and hit a buzzer beater.
5 Didn't want to mentor Dwight Howard
Shaquille O’Neal was one of the biggest critics of Dwight Howard during the latter’s prime year. The trajectory from the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers saw Howard literally following Shaq’s path. O’Neal took many public shots at Howard and reportedly didn’t want to mentor him despite requests from both franchises at different points.
4 Wasn't hard choice for Lakers to pick Kobe over him
The Los Angeles Lakers had a tough decision to make in the minds of many fans when Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant started to clash. Once the team fell short two playoffs in a row, the success of the three-peat wore off. Lakers management had to make a choice and it reportedly wasn’t even close. Bryant’s youth and work ethic put him over the older Shaq and was the right call looking back.
3 Didn't always play hard in regular season
The biggest reason for Kobe Bryant’s past anger at Shaquille O’Neal on the Los Angeles Lakers was his work ethic. NBA TV’s sit-down interview between them saw O’Neal reveal he did relax since he had another superstar, but Bryant revealed it made him furious. Bryant started to carry the regular season burden, but Shaq won all three Finals MVPs in the playoffs.
2 Went back on plans to wrestle Big Show at WrestleMania
Shaquille O’Neal’s entertainment side saw him wanting to make a transition into the wrestling ring for WWE. A surprise appearance in a WrestleMania 32 battle royal teased a future match between Shaq and 7-foot-tall wrestler Big Show. WWE reportedly had the match planned until O’Neal backed out closer to WrestleMania 33 to crush our dreams.
1 Didn't trust Penny Hardaway enough to win ring
Shaquille O’Neal played with three superstar guards throughout his prime. Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade are considered two of the top five shooting guards of all-time. Penny Hardaway never fulfilled his potential due to injuries and his star fading after Shaq left Orlando. The belief at the time was that O’Neal didn’t feel he could win a title with Penny and wanted to make a change to the Lakers before too late.
Sources: Inside the NBA, NBA TV, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Complex, Wrestling Observer
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