John Salley Says Shaquille O’Neal was a “Small Person Inside” and Only Became Big for the Game

Former NBA player John Salley has played with and against some of the greatest hoopers of all time. The 6-foot-11 big man was tasked to guard many legends. En route to his first two NBA championships in 1989 and 1990, Salley served as an enforcer of the treacherous ‘Jordan Rules’ implemented by the Detroit Pistons against Michael Jordan. But Shaquille O’Neal was his toughest opponent.

Salley claims that Shaq didn’t even realize the full potential of his dominance.

During an appearance on Byron Scott’s ‘Fast Break’ podcast, the former Pistons big man was asked about his experience implementing the ‘Jordan Rules’ on MJ. Additionally, Scott’s co-host asked Salley whether the same rules worked on Kobe Bryant since the two greats had a similar playing style.

Salley said that containing Kobe wasn’t that big of problem. They just stifled him after he caught the ball. However, the presence of O’Neal on the Lakers side really hurt the plans because nobody could guard the big fella. Additionally, Salley also gave a personal assessment of Shaq’s talent, which was quite surprising.

He said, “If Shaq knew how dominant he was, I know it sounds crazy but he is like a small person inside. He’s about your[pointing to Scott’s co-host] height. He just put that [gesturing stilts] on for the game, the big body.”

Salley shortly followed up with an explanation for his belief. He said,

” [Shaq] hated that they Hack-a-Shaq. He hated that the refs let people push on him cause he was so big. When Daryl Dawkins was doing what Shaq was doing, he knew he was going to get hit. There were other big guys heavy to hit then, there were no other heavy guys to hit Shaq.”

Salley’s words stand in direct contradiction to what most NBA players believed about Shaq. The big man played like a grown man in a league where many big men were reluctant to play like a big man, that’s the general consensus.

Shaq himself admitted that he started playing like a big man after his father, Phillip Harrison, slapped him one day for finger-rolling the basketball like Magic Johnson. However, if Salley’s veteran eyes caught something, it can’t be discarded without introspection.

The 60-year-old believes that Shaq was capable of doing much more if he had really embraced his size advantage

There is no denying Shaq’s greatness as a player, but Sally’s words also allude to his mentality and work ethic. During the 15-time All-Star’s prime days with the Lakers, there was not a single player that could prevent him from scoring.

The Pistons defeated the Lakers in the NBA Finals in 2004, a win that is credited to their fantastic defense. Despite their defensive prowess, Shaq still averaged 26.6 points and 10.8 rebounds on 63.1% shooting from the field in the Finals.

Salley mentioned Shaq’s grievances against the Hack-a-Shaq, which never led O’Neal to develop into an adequate free-throw shooter. In the 2002-03 season, Shaq had his best year from the charity stripe with a measly 62.2% from the line.

At his prime, Shaq stood at 7-foot-1 while weighing 350 pounds. Regardless of his weight, he was a matchup nightmare due to his agility and quickness.

If Salley’s words hold any merit, then it leaves room to wonder how better Shaq could’ve been if he really adopted the right mindset. A reality that would’ve elevated his career to the GOAT debate.