Two years before LeBron James was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA draft, Shaquille O’Neal released his book, “Shaq talks back.” O’Neal was a student at Louisiana State University. In his book, Shaq said that kids these days had become materialistic, and wanted their money as soon as possible. The NBA legend claimed that only some youngsters have the maturity to join the NBA as high school kids.
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O’Neal advised one young player to go to college first, and not chase immediate money. The former LA Lakers star claimed that while some like Kobe Bryant might be ready to enter the NBA, most are not. Hence, young players should stay broke for another two years and complete their college education.
Shaquille O’Neal does not want basketball pros to skip college
According to O’Neal, it was the materialism of today’s kids that made them decide to skip college. He claimed that one of the young players he was speaking to wanted to go pro because he “needed the money.”
O’Neal explained to the youngster that he could easily stay broke for another two years. Instead, finishing college was more important:
“A lot of young kids are materialistic so young, they’re talking about where the bling-bling is, where’s my new car, and all that. I said to this one kid who had a chance to go pro: “Listen, man, you got to go to college, man. Got to go to college for two or three years. Then if you think you’re good enough, you feel you can do it, then do it.”
When the player told O’Neal that he needed the money, O’Neal referenced Kobe Bryant. He claimed that while some kids are mature enough to go pro as teenagers, most are not:
“I said, “Listen, you been broke for eighteen years, you can be broke for two more years, for 730 more days.” These kids got to learn how to manage that money. But a lot of them always go back to, “Yo, look at that girl,” or “Yo, let me see that chain.” They want it so fast. I’m not saying there aren’t situations where kids should come out early. Kobe is a good example. He was mature and ready for his age, a different breed. But I want to tell most of these kids they’re not ready, that you have your whole life to work and only certain chances in life to go to school.”
LeBron James was the last NBA player to skip college
The NBA decided that every player must have at least one year of college under his belt before joining the league. O’Neal’s claims were made just two years before LeBron James took the league by storm, joining straight from his high school St. Vincent-St. Mary.
James, the chosen one, was looked at as an incredible prospect right out of school. His meteoric rise resulted in him becoming one of the best players of all time. However, James could easily have succumbed to pressure.
Moreover, joining the NBA straight from high school can prove to be highly risky. There can be a number of reasons why a player’s career is cut short, leaving them without a college education to fall back on.
The kind of attention LeBron James got was also viewed as dangerous, with quite a few youngsters have struggled to cope with the expectations over the years. The latest example is Ja Morant, something O’Neal seems to have predicted all those years ago.
