Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal reveals his favorite player from Australia to make it to the NBA.
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Regarded as one of the most dominant players ever, Shaquille O’Neal accomplished almost every single accolade during his 19-seasons in the NBA. A terror in the paint, the former seven-foot center had opponents beat with his mere physicality.
Shaq faced some of the most formidable opponents during his career, including legends like Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Dirk Nowitzki. While many feared going up against The Diesel in the paint, this wasn’t the case with Shane Heal.
The Australian native enjoyed tons of success in the NBL, which opened some international doors for him, ultimately leading to the NBA. While his basketball stint in the United States was limited to a mere 49-games in total, he did make an impact.
Also read: “Kobe Bryant was alien-like”: Shaquille O’Neal gives an insight into Black Mamba’s mindset
In a clip, Shaq reveals why Heal was his favorite Australian player, addressing his toughness and shooting.
Shaquille O’Neal discloses why Shane Heal was his favorite Australian player.
While Heal was a superstar back home in Australia, the 6-feet point guard didn’t find the same success playing for the NBA during his two stints with the Timberwolves and Spurs. The former NBL champion averaged a mere 6.3 MPG, with stats like 2.0 PPG and 0.8 APG.
Nonetheless, Heal does have something to be happy about, given NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal was mightily impressed with him. When asked who was his favorite Australian player, The Diesel replied the following.
“Shane Heal,” said the Hall of Famer.
“Cause he’s tough and a great shooter. He’s tough cause he came in the lane one day, and I tried to ball him in his face, and he just kept coming back.”
Shaq added how he was assigned to touch him (Heal) up. However, the Lakers MVP was mightily impressed by Heal’s heart to fight.
Heal, who couldn’t do full justice to his NBA stint, might have his daughter Shyla make up for him, selected as the 8th overall pick in the 2021 WNBA draft.
Also read: Shaquille O’Neal, who missed over 5,000 free throws, disses himself while trying to flip a bottle
