Shaquille O’Neal played his last season with the Boston Celtics back in 2011. Even though Shaq was on his last leg back then, he was still dominant in the paint. But his dominance didn’t just target the bottom of the league, and was also for the league’s royalty. In his biography Shaq Uncut, the Diesel recalled his battles against Miami in the 2011 playoffs.
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Even though Shaq didn’t play a lot of minutes in the series against Miami, he was impactful when he stepped on the court. Recalling his experience from the 2011, Eastern Conference semi-final, O’Neal said,
” I’m watching that series and Miami has no inside presence, and it’s just killing me. In the game I did play, the Miami players thought about driving the lane, but when I touched them up they never really came back in. LeBron, DWade, Chris Bosh, they were all thinking twice about going in there because they knew I had every intention of using all six of my fouls.”
From the looks of it, Shaq was all in during his last season with Boston. Even without his youthful quickness, Shaq had enough size and strength to still affect the game. It’s no wonder that Miami’s big three( LeBron, Bosh, and Dwyane Wade) avoided penetrating when Shaq was standing guard, as the Big Fella could put you on a SportsCenter highlight at any given moment.
Although the Celtics lost the contest 4-1 to Miami in that series, Shaq left his impact in the 2 games he played in his limited game time.
This comes as no surprise as the league’s dominant man was Shaq even when he was handicapped. This terrifying fact, just helps us put a young Shaq into context. As a youngster, Shaq( while still on his rookie contract) led the Magic against Jordan, giving the ‘GOAT’ his only playoff defeat since his first ring in 1991. As of 2023-24, we can still see clips of Shaq dunking, as he has officially entered his 50s as of last year.
Injuries always held Shaq back
By the time Shaq left Los Angeles, he was already on the decline. Shaq played second fiddle to Wade in Miami, and that had a lot to do with Shaq’s mounting health issues. By the time Shaq reached Boston, he was riddled with injuries. Shaq only played 37 games in his final season with the Celtics.
During his time with the Celtics, Shaq went through every injury imaginable. From sore Achilles tendons to back issues, The Diesel could no longer fly through the paint like he used to.
Boston legend and Shaq’s Celtic teammate Paul Pierce has gone as far as to say that if O’Neal was healthy, the 2011 chip would have been theirs. Now, that’s something, cause back in 2011, Dr. O’Neal was the oldest player in the league with an age of 39 years old. Though Pierce might have been optimistic in his take, he surely wasnt lying when it came to Shaq’s ability to dominate when healthy.
