“I Never Wanted To Be The Best. I Wanted To Be The Meanest!”: Shaquille O’Neal Described His Mindset During His Legendary NBA Career

Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal once sat down and described his mentality behind being the most dominant player in the league

When it comes to being a monumental player for their franchises, only a few can hold their head up high. The fact that there have been numerous extraordinary players in the history of the game who have won near to nothing is appalling.

But more so, it speaks to the paramount importance of having a good system and structure behind you. The likes of Allen Iverson, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, so on and so forth.

However, even for the greatest players to have graced the league, several of them have had to go through far too many ups and downs. The abject failures faced by some, have halted their career growth, and eventually a place in the NBA.

The ones, who persevere though, go straight to the top. The likes of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, etc. The mark they’ve forged in the league will be remembered for generations to come.

Also read: “I’m Joel Embiid, Shaquille O’Neal was a freaking monster when he played”: The Sixers center believes he dominates the game in other ways unlike a physical specimen like The Diesel

Shaquille O’Neal is the most dominant player in NBA history. His objective was to really be the meanest though!

If you ask any NBA fan, who was the most dominant, not great, dominant, all fingers point towards ‘Shaq’. A trailblazer, the size and stature possessed by O’Neil meant he was unplayable on his best days.

In an interview, ‘Diesel’ spoke about his intention and need to be the best player. O’Neil stated-

“Jordan told me before he succeeded, he was the first one to fail..Like I never wanted to be the best player. I wanted to be the meanest. I want you to say Shaq’s the most dominant player or one of the most dominant players ever. Period.”

In his prime, ‘Shaq’ was untouchable. In 2000, he won the following accolades: NBA ‘MVP’, NBA Championship, the scoring title, and ‘All-Star’. In the 2000 NBA Finals, he averaged 38.0 Points per game and 16.7 Rebounds per game, along with 2.7 blocks per game.

A freak of nature in his own right. Do you think we’ll see someone as dominant as Shaq O’Neil again, in the NBA?

Also read: “JaVale McGee and I were ready to beat Shaquille O’Neal up, man!”: Dwight Howard reveals a hilarious story from his championship season with the Lakers