Shaquille O’Neal often dealt with criticism concerning his efforts to stay in shape but had the answer to it mentally prepared.
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Shaquille O’Neal is often referred to as the most dominant basketball player of all time. However, despite his valiant efforts and superstar showings, there was always a concern surrounding Shaq – An asterisk of sorts.
Over the years, people have often opined in NBA circles that the Big Diesel could have had considerably more success with some more effort. There could have been a reason for this too. The big man was always associated with a chill, easy-going attitude, which predictably propped this opinion up high.
Further, a comparison between his Laker teammate Kobe Bryant and his fierce work rate seemed to weigh against O’Neal. Shaq however, never seemed to care much for the critics.
And that has remained Big Diesel’s stance to date. It is also important to note that O’Neal was well aware of the criticism and refers to Kobe too while addressing the matter on a podcast.
How did Shaq respond to the criticism of his not working hard enough?
Anyone who has seen Shaq on a basketball is aware of the damage the man was capable of doing. Breaking backs and backboards around the rim were regular occurrences around the Big Diesel.
Such domination meant that Shaq had one up on the critics from the off. It was on this note, that O’Neal reminded everyone how he knew exactly what had to be done and would go about it. And truth be told, there’s no denying the big man’s greatness.
In his prime, Shaq did quite some damage and collected plenty of silverware, individual honors included. And as a man of that stature would present it, Shaq, with all that clout, talked that talk to his critics.
“Kobe was like, I want to be the best ever and he used to practice, like, four or five hours a day. I’m not doing that. Because my attitude was, why am I practicing four or five hours for you? Who are you? I already know what I got to do. Just bought my mama a new house, and she got to keep it. You ain’t going to take that away from me, so. It was a lot. ‘Oh, Shaq didn’t work out hard enough’. But naw, I know what I got to do. It’s all right here.”
Can’t argue with a man who was *almost* unanimously voted as the league MVP and was the league’s most feared player for all his peak. Whatever the critics say, Shaq did what he had to and he got it done more often than he gets credit for.
How good was Shaquille O’Neal at his peak?
Before we go into his peak, let’s take this in for a second. For a player who supposedly did not work hard enough, Shaquille O’Neal has incredulous career statistics. The 15-time all-star (!) averaged a whopping 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game for his entire career.
If the above-mentioned numbers weren’t sufficient, here are some more Shaq facts for you. From 1993-94 to 2002-03, a 1o-season span, there was not a single season where the Big Diesel averaged less than 27 points per game. O’Neal also averaged double-digit rebounds in 14 separate NBA seasons.
And for all this, there can be no allegation of “empty stats” either. Shaquille O’Neal won 4 NBA championships and featured in NBA Playoff basketball in all but one of the seasons in his NBA career.
Pretty impressive indeed for someone who did not work hard enough. Truly one of the all-time greats of the game, O’Neal deserves his bouquets and fewer brickbats from the NBA community. A stellar resume and an entertaining career worth remembering make up for a few missed hours in the gym.
