During the Lakers-Nets 2002 finals series, following an impressive shooting display in Game 2, Rick Adelman claimed that Shaquille O’Neal got away with free throw line-related violations. As a result, O’Neal used his creativity to construct a poem to shut the Sacramento Kings player up.
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The center had a dominant performance as he played for almost 41 minutes and finished with 40 points and 12 rebounds. However, the more impressive stat from the night was his efficiency from the charity stripe – 12/14. Instead of receiving praise for his 85.7% FT production, Shaq was attacked by Adelman for “overstepping” the free throw line prematurely.
At first, the megastar called out Adelman on national TV immediately after the game concluded. The Big Aristotle was frustrated by the unwanted criticism.
“That game was dedicated to Rick Adelman. I’m at home, in the bathroom, trying to take a dump, flipping through the channels and he’s complaining (on TV) about how I’m stepping over the line… Can I go one day without somebody saying something negative about me?”
Shaq’s actions further included penning down poetry for the Kings’ head coach. Being the lyrical genius that he is, the 2000 MVP wrote:
“Don’t cry. Dry your eyes. Here comes Shaq. With those four little guys,” Shaq’s poem read.
The California side clinched the finals by sweeping the Nets. Additionally, O’Neal even won the Finals MVP for a third straight season. However, the poem didn’t help Diesel sustain his impressive level of performance from the free throw line in the final two games of the series.
Shaq witnessed a dip in his performance after the poem to Adelman
Shaq was unstoppable during the finals clash against Jason Kidd and Co. He won the Finals MVP honors by recording 36.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game. However, these stats could’ve been a bit better had he not sent the poem to Rick Adelman.
During the first two games, before the poem, Shaq had averaged 38 points, 14 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. After the jab at Adelman, the 7ft 1” player averaged 34.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game.
The poetry also harmed Shaq’s free throw display. In the first two games of the series, he shot the ball at 68.5% (24/35). However, this number fell to 63.6% (21/33) in the second half of the best-of-7 games series.
