Shaquille O’Neal: A player feature from a fan’s perspective

As a Lakers fan, I had the opportunity to watch Shaquille O'Neal play in Los Angeles for eight years. In his prime, he was by far the biggest, strongest, most agile (for a player of his mass) big man I ever saw. He was both the unstoppable force and the immovable object, a nightmare matchup for opposing players and the refs as well. With Phil Jackson’s tutelage and Kobe Bryant at his side, he led the Lakers to three straight championships. I have to give respect where it’s due. Those banners in the Staples Center don’t exist without the Big Fella.

However, in light of the recent hubbub he spawned with his comments regarding Dwight Howard, I have to give criticism where it’s due as well. As much as Shaq has done in his career, he left basketball fans wanting, and this shortcoming stems from one main thing: his attitude.

Dominance Made Easy

Shaq dominated through high school and college and as soon as he set foot in the NBA. This winning pattern isn't uncommon for the superstars in the league, the LeBrons, the Kobes, the Derrick Roses. So what separates Shaq from the others? Yes, I’m sure he worked extremely hard to get to where he did, but given his gifted size, I believe his success came more easily to him than it might have to others with similar talent. He could score 30 points a night with the highest shooting percentage in the league as smaller defenders cower helplessly below. Everything came easily for Shaq, and he realized that he didn’t have to work as hard to win games and keep up with the league leaders. Did this spur him on to train harder for even more unparalleled excellence? Nope. This led to poor work ethic, keeping him often out of shape and more prone to injury. In Shaq’s mind, he was the best and nobody could stop him. Whether he worked hard or not.

Fall from the Top

It didn’t matter whether Shaq played like a “true” center with his back to the basket. He relied heavily on his advantageous size, and once his body started shutting down for good, his effectiveness dropped starkly. Ever since he left L.A., his role was essentially reduced to that of a journeyman, as he made stops in Miami, Phoenix, and Cleveland until ultimately retiring as a rather cumbersome role player for the Boston Celtics. To be fair, he did win his fourth ring with Miami in just his second year removed from the purple and gold. But by that point his decline was well in progress and he basically played Pippen to Dwyane Wade’s Jordan in their championship run.

Shamrock Green with Envy

A few years ago, Apple ran a series of commercials where a trendy, smart youngster (Mac) would smugly take shots at a nerdy, unstylish businessman (PC). The message behind these commercials is simple enough: Macs are superior to PCs. But the motive for these commercials is maybe a little less obvious: as the most powerful computer company in the world, Microsoft was a threat to Apple. It is in the best interest of Apple to point out as many of Microsoft’s imperfections as possible. In the same way, Shaq has always felt threatened by Dwight's emergence. Dwight became the dominant big man that Shaq used to be for all those years before. Dwight was getting all the love, the hoopla, and the latest “best big man” title. Shaq, for the first time in his career, was in the shadow of another center and he was powerless to do anything about it. On the court, anyway. Off the court, he would throw little daggers of criticisms underlined with jealousy in Dwight’s direction.

Worse than Brook Lopez?

Which brings me to his comment that Brook Lopez is a better center than Dwight Howard. Everyone who knows these names knows that it’s not true. Brook Lopez knows it’s not true. And maybe most importantly, Shaq knows it’s not true. But he said it, anyway. It comes to show that even a full year after retiring, Shaq’s faulty mentality has yet to change.

My words hold no official authority, as I have no access to anyone associated with the NBA. But for what it’s worth, these are my thoughts.