Shaquille O’Neal was a force of nature during his playing days, and he made opponents and the rims and backboards have nightmares about playing against him.
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The LA legend was the catalyst of the Lakers dynasty in the 2000s. He was the star of a team that won three titles in a row, forming a dynamic duo with Kobe Bryant.
There was nobody who could stop Shaq back in the day. He was the most dominant physical force to have ever played basketball, and he completely owned the paint.
Shaq was a menace on both sides of the ball. He could control the paint with his size, deterring anyone who dared to enter. We haven’t seen anyone dominant the inside game quite like Shaq since his glory days. Back then, he was an absolute beast to watch.
(1999) 22 years ago today, @SHAQ threw down this insane poster dunk and had the world in awe.
Iconic. 🔥#shaquilleoneal #shaquille #oneal #shaq #diesel #nba #losangeleslakers #lalakers #la #lakers #lakeshow #basketball #dunk #slam #sport #iconic #classic #legend #greatness pic.twitter.com/MzlwGyaGIG— In The Showcase (@intheshowcase) March 28, 2021
Shaquille O’Neal used to break backboards and have shot clocks fall on him
Shaq’s massive frame is well know, but do you know exactly how big he was? He weighed in at 325 pounds, and he stood at a massive 7 feet tall.
He would throw down the ball with so much force that he used to tear down entire backboards. In fact, it’s because of Shaw that the NBA added suspension to their backboards, literally changing the design of their rim and backboard because he used to break them so often.
Rim rocking, bucket getting, BACKBOARD BREAKING! 🏆💪
Happy Birthday @SHAQ! pic.twitter.com/a3FJsMvo9s
— NBA UK (@NBAUK) March 6, 2018
Shaq’s broken so many backboards that he has a tree with all the broken rims he’s collected.
.@SHAQ really has a broken rim tree 😂 pic.twitter.com/inqxlBziug
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 4, 2020
However, once Shaq broke the rim so hard that the shot clock came down on his head, hurting him. Shaq recounted the story once on a talk show and detailed how he was in so much pain that he needed ice for his head.
We don’t know exactly what dunk Shaq was talking about, but it might have been this rim rocker:
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