“Michael Jordan Was an Alpha Dog”: When Shaquille O’Neal Blamed Steve Nash’s Lack of MJ-like Instinct For Remaining Ringless

Shaquille O’Neal, despite being an all-time great, had the misfortune of traveling from one team to the other. While most legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Larry Bird spend their lives playing for one team, O’Neal and his multiple tussles with teams meant he was traded often.

In his 19-year-long career, he played for 6 teams. Ranging from Orlando Magic to the Lakers to the Celtics, O’Neal moved a little too much. But one good thing that came out of these regular trades was that O’Neal had the opportunity to play with some of the best talents of the modern world.

Right from Kobe Bryant to LeBron James to Dwyane Wade, O’Neal played alongside some of the biggest names of the 21st century. One such player that he played with was Steve Nash. Nash was, during his active days, widely considered to be the top point guard.

But Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t all that impressed with the Canadian 6ft 3″ star. Diesel believed that Nash lacked that edge the likes of Michael Jordan had, the instinct he had. He blamed the lack of that alpha dog instinct for Nash never winning a championship.

Shaquille O’Neal blamed Steve Nash’s lack of Michael Jordan-like instinct for never winning a championship

In his book Shaq Uncut, O’Neal praised Steve Nash and his creativity but the 7ft 1″ Diesel was also critical of his former teammate. Nash and Shaq played together for over a season but couldn’t win a ring together.

And unlike his former teammates Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, O’Neal believed Steve wasn’t an alpha dog. Shaq named Michael Jordan and himself as examples of alpha dogs and how because Steve did not have the same instinct, he couldn’t win a championship because of it.

Shaq: “So why was it that Phoenix never won with all that talent and experience? We had no alpha dogs on the team. You need dogs to win a championship. Steve  Nash is an alpha but not a mean dog. He’s a great leader and a great player, but you need a mean dog who will bite your head off, and Steve just isn’t that kind of pooch. Mike Jordan was an alpha dog in Chicago. Bird in Boston. I was one, too. If Steve got really mad, he’d come down and shoot a three, or come down and dish out five straight assists, which was cool—team ball—but it wasn’t enough. Face it. He was caught in this loop where he had three great teams that were always in front of him.”

Shaq believed Steve Nash was incapable of defeating Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan

According to Shaquille O’Neal, because of the lack of this ‘alpha’ instinct, Steve Nash could never have defeated the formidable foes in the league. He claimed that players like Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan were beyond Nash and he couldn’t ever hope of defeating them.

But O’Neal also mentioned that just because Nash lacked a ring doesn’t mean he wasn’t a winner. According to Shaq, players like Nash shouldn’t be judged for their lack of a championship.