“Wasn’t as Tough as Kobe Bryant”: Shaquille O’Neal Once Claimed Dwyane Wade Couldn’t Handle Tough Love

Shaquille O’Neal played alongside two of the best guards of the 21st century – Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant. How many players can boast of not just playing with such great talents but also winning a title with them? Fortunately, the immensely talented Shaquille O’Neal can. He won’t 3 championships alongside Kobe and 1 with Wade. But, considering Wade and Bryant’s different personalities, O’Neal also had to alter his approach. In his book Shaq Uncut: My Story, Diesel stated that while dealing with his Miami Heat teammate, he couldn’t be as harsh as he was with Kobe. Shaq believed DWade couldn’t possibly coped with his tough love.

Shaq’s time with Bryant was full of turbulence. The entire feud had made the environment in LA so toxic, that once Shaq left for Miami, he decided to take a softer approach with his Heat teammate.

Shaq believed that he had been a little too tough with Kobe but that was because he knew Bryant could handle the pressure. Bryant thrived under pressure, under scrutiny. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade had a vastly different personality.

Shaquille O’Neal claimed Dwyane Wade wasn’t as tough as Kobe Bryant

In his 2011 biography, O’Neal talked of his time in Miami in almost as much detail as he talked about Lakers. Having won his 4th championship with the Heat, it was understandable that O’Neal decided to share how he bonded and won the season alongside Wade.

O’Neal, who had taken the tough love route with Bryant, would later regret being angry at the Lakers legend. However, he also believed that the anger and harsh treatment pushed Kobe to be better.

But when the time came to work alonsgide the Flash, he wasn’t too sure this approach would work. Shaquille O’Neal in the book stated that Wade wasn’t the type to figth back and challenge you like Bryant did.

Shaq: “By the time I got to Miami, I wasn’t the CEO anymore. DWade was going to have to be the CEO because he was young and hitting his stride. My job was to be his top advisor. But I realized pretty quickly I could not treat him the way I had treated Kobe. You couldn’t be too hard on DWade. He wasn’t as tough as Kobe, wasn’t the type to fight back and challenge you.”

Shaq decided to give Wade space

O’Neal took a vastly different approach with DWade. Instead of suffocating him with challenges, he chose to give him more space. In his book Shaq Uncut, Diesel suggested Dwyane would succeed much more with space.

This was obviously the right approach. The Miami Heat not only turned from a barely decent team to one of the most successful in the league. But they eventually added the first title to Miami’s portfolio.