“Michael Jordan Made Up Stuff in His Mind”: 5 Years After Iconic All-Star Game Moment, Shaquille O’Neal Shared Bulls Legend’s Regular Season Secret

NBA’s grueling schedule of eighty-two regular season games has been a point of debate over the years. It not only fatigues the player’s body but also impacts their mind. Former basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal discusses the above in his book ‘Shaq Talks Back.’ Shaq took cues from Michael Jordan, who made up stuff in his mind to keep himself motivated.

A fan of the great Michael Jordan, Shaq wanted to impress his peer in the 1996 All-Star game. During the practice, he played 1-on-1 with the Bulls legend and showcased a series of slick moves for a seven-footer. He learned from the best and, five years later, shared how he believed he had a bit of Jordan in him.

Shaquille O’Neal learned motivation from Michael Jordan

In the book, Shaq details the effort to play through an entire NBA season. You are on the court every alternate day, under immense pressure from the fans, to perform at an elite level. God forbid you have an off day, and the media will annihilate you. To overcome that, Shaq followed in the footsteps of Michael Jordan to excel and garner motivation. Here is an excerpt from the book:

“When you play 82 games during the regular season, traveling from airport to airport, hotel to hotel, and arena to arena, you have to find ways to motivate yourself for each challenge. Michael Jordan was the best of all time at that. Mike would just take any little thing someone said and create a challenge for himself to beat that person or team. He kept his edge ’cause he just made stuff up in his mind. You did not want to make Mike mad. I’ve got a little of that in me.”

The three-peat Lakers vs. Jordan’s Bulls.

Shaq says he and Kobe win “easily” 👀 pic.twitter.com/eOi6wDyGmk

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 16, 2020

Michael would find motivation in the little things, and sometime he would just manufacture them out of the blue. It could be an opponent who said something under his breath the previous season or a player who had blocked his shot in the last game. It did not matter to Michael. His desire to stay competitive drew out fictitious scenarios in his mind and he ensured his superiority was on display.

Shaq won four rings by taking it personal

O’Neal learned the mantra of staying motivated from Jordan and applied it to his career. In the process of doing so, he managed to win four rings. He, too, would take offense to the little things and in return, establish his dominance on the court. If he felt disrespected, he was ready to let that person know who Shaq was.

I might not have a brain but I got 4 rings. – @SHAQ #NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/3ATDytOfdX

— imma need bout tree fiddy (@englishdamuffin) December 23, 2020

This was not limited to the basketball court, where he was already the most dominant player in the league. If Shaq felt he was not getting the appropriate attention in business meetings, he would establish his authority and let everyone know who pays the bills. He wanted to be in control at all times and it’s difficult to blame a man of his stature for that.