Having Been ‘Thrashed’ by His Stepfather, 7ft 1″ Shaquille O’Neal Wasn’t Allowed to Celebrate His Achievements

As one grows up into teens and eventually adulthood, a lot of situations are in actuality different from what is being portrayed. For example, the concept of motivation.

As a child, one doesn’t delve too deep into the aspect, but as you grow you comprehend just how significant it is in helping oneself achieve their objectives. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao-1dLMKju4

This theory can be applied to every activity that an individual partakes in, especially professional sports. When a person is motivated, the potential he/she has to fulfill their desires is limitless. Especially with a dynamic and pervasive sport like basketball.

Shaquille O’Neal is conceivably one of the foremost serial winners of all time. But like most victors, O’Neal was forced to learn the hard way that consistent motivation is the path to success, courtesy of his father.

Phil Harrison, who was O’Neal’s stepfather, had a unique outlook on raising his children. He often thrashed Shaq for not following his instructions. Hiding his trophies was perhaps a part of Harrison’s raising techniques. 

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Shaquille O’Neal details the strict nature of his father!

For the uninitiated, O’Neal’s father was a bit of a tyrant. And while that might be an overstatement of the reality of the situation, the truth remains that no one will be able to pass a comment on that statement besides O’Neal. 

In an interview on the ‘Dan Patrick Show’, O’Neal dissected how his father, in an attempt to teach ‘Diesel’ about motivation, adhered to a certain measure, which wasn’t insane in any sense, yet took a toll on the young ‘O’Neal’. 

‘Shaq’ stated-

“He used to always take my trophies and put them in a box. Never displayed it. So finally when I got a lot of boxes( ‘That would’ve been a lot of boxes’)..Yea a lot of boxes..So finally when I got older I asked him. I said why’d you do that? He said because I never want you to feel satisfied”

While it may not be the ideal approach, the method has received proven results. Even in the case of Shaquille O’Neal for that matter, all these instances led to him eventually possessing the title of the ‘Most Dominant’ player in the history of the sport.

Amongst a number of other accolades including the title of NBA MVP. 

Also read: “Shareef and I vs Scottie Pippen and His Son!”: Shaquille O’Neal Issues $660,000 Challenge to the 6x NBA Champion

Shaquille O’Neal: A revolutionary figure in NBA history. 

Preliminary to Shaq’s arrival in the NBA, the league hadn’t witnessed anyone like O’Neal. With that being said, the obvious arguments that come to mind are Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.

The pair serve as the best examples. However, apart from possessing the height of his superiors, O’Neal also had a size advantage.

To say it enabled him to dominate would be disrespectful to the legacy of O’Neal. With the added motivation of wanting to justify and validate the hype around him, O’Neal made history.

He guided the Los Angeles Lakers winning the famed three-peag with the franchise between 2000 and 2002. 

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