Focus – the most underrated mantra for success took center stage yet again as Shaquille O’Neal regretted one of his career decisions. The 4-time champion’s conflict with Kobe Bryant fogged his personal ambitions as he lost the ‘most dominant’ title following his stint at the Boston Celtics. In an interview with GQ, he reflected on that period of chasing his 5th ring to match his former teammate.
Advertisement
Since stepping on the NBA court back in 1992, Shaq had the aim of becoming the most dominant player of all time. The only obstacle in his path turned out to be the late great Wilt Chamberlain for his displays in the late 1905s and early 1970s. Diesel highlighted the same, stating, ”Most dominant, my category, is only one or two people. I’m fine with that. It’s either me or Wilt”.
Thus, he wanted to surpass Wilt in every possible category by the end of his playing career. By the year 2010, Shaq had already left Chamberlin behind in championships with four, compared to the latter’s two. “I already passed Wilt in championships,” the 51-year-old mentioned as his next objective was to go past him on the all-time scoring leaders list.
During that time, his nemesis, Kobe, won his fifth championship, making the 7’1 center determined to match the shooting guard’s tally. The 2000 MVP thus had two goals in mind when he signed for the Celtics in the 2010/11 campaign. He highlighted, “When I signed a two-year deal with Boston, I was chasing that fifth ring to catch up with Kobe, but I was also chasing points to catch up with Wilt”.
The season did not meet the expectations for the 15x All-Star as he failed to achieve both of those goals before announcing his retirement soon after. The sports analyst felt remorse at his decision, mentioning, “If I had passed Wilt, I would have got on TV arrogantly and say, “I am the most dominant person ever. I don’t wanna hear nobody else’s name, period.” Boom, boom, boom. “Nobody did what I did, nobody did it like I do. Forget Wilt.” But because I didn’t pass him, I have to allow people to still say his name”.
How dominant was Shaquille O’Neal during his playing days?
His failure in that campaign scarred him to date as the 3x Finals MVP’s greed snatched away his title of the most dominant NBA player ever. Eventually, Shaq seemed to have accepted his fate and position in that hierarchy, saying, “When you say most dominant, there’s only two, so I’m happy”. After all, he is just a position below Wilt on the list of all-time scoring leaders with only 2823 fewer points while playing 5942 fewer minutes.
So, his contemporaries and former colleagues always paid respect to him. Bryant, in particular, once highlighted how O’Neal would have been “the greatest of all time,” further backing his dominance on the court. Richard Jefferson previously indicated the same while explaining the NBA teams’ antics to stopping the New Jersey-born. He pointed out, “You had to have two or three bigs just for fouls. Not like good bigs. We just need bigs there. We need big bodies”.
More than a decade after his retirement, the tales of Shaq carries on to this day. With an ample amount of former players showcasing admiration for his craft, he certainly left the floor as one of the most essential figures of the league of all time.
