Shaquille O’Neal, recently, had the former NBA player and three-time Sixth Man of the Year, Lou Williams, and comedian Bill Bellamy as guests on his podcast, The Big Podcast with Shaq. As the episode got underway, Shaquille O’Neal started things off by apologizing to Lou Williams as he did not know that Williams came into the NBA right out of high school,
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“Lou, I’m gonna start with you. I owe you an apology. I didn’t know you came from High School. Listen, I don’t know how you prepared for the game but I never looked at other people.”
Shaq also highlighted that he didn’t give enough attention to it because that was not the position he was concerned about, “And plus, you was a guard so you wasn’t my responsibility. It was Kobe and D-Wade and all. So, like when he just said straight outta high school, I was like, ‘Damn, I didn’t know that.’”
When William revealed the High School he attended in Atlanta, Shaq added, “You know, I may be the dumbest Hall of Famer in the league.”
Shaq went on to reveal that Lou Williams was on his list of people he did not mess with. Williams, on the other hand, didn’t entirely agree with Shaq’s stance on him. Sweet Lou shared a story of the time O’Neal was with the Phoenix Suns, playing alongside Steve Nash and others.
Williams narrated the story of him getting mad over a missed foul call and how he took it out on Steve Nash the next play. This did not sit well with Shaq as the play following Williams shoving Nash, O’Neal grabbed Lou mid-air and guided him down to the floor.
According to Williams, that was Shaquille O’Neal’s way of sending a message across to not mess with his point guard. As the discussion went on, Shaquille O’Neal revealed the three players he feared during his time in the league.
“I was scared of Vince(Carter), T-Mac(Tracy McGrady), Kob(Kobe Bryant).”
Shaquille O’Neal was the most dominant center during his time in the NBA, known as a rim protector who could lock down the paint as well. However, the three players he named were the most elite high-flyers the league had at the time. The three All-Stars were known to put defenders on posters night in and night out, something Shaq feared since he took pride in not being dunked on.
Shaquille O’Neal’s pride that led to his fear
During the podcast, right before Shaquille O’Neal revealed the names of the players he feared, he shared a story of one of his so-called altercations with Vince Carter. As per O’Neal, Carter tried to put Shaq on the poster but The Big Aristotle wasn’t going to let that happen.
“I grabbed him by the f***ing neck and threw him on the ground.”
Shaq stated that he had nothing against Carter but love and respect. However, he wasn’t ready to be put on a poster by Vinsanity.
As much as Shaquille O’Neal despised getting dunked on, during his 19 seasons in the NBA, only three players had ever managed to slam it in The Big Aristotle’s face. According to SportsIllustrated, Shaq said, “In 20 years, I only got dunked on three times. Derrick Coleman, Michael Jordan, and Tim Perry.”
One time, the Los Angeles Lakers legend’s desire to not be on a poster or the nightly highlights took a dark and violent turn. Shaq had once threatened to break Baron Davis’ legs if he ever tried to dunk on him ever again.
Going ahead in his career, Shaquille O’Neal’s hatred of being dunked on led him to make sure it never happened again. He never allowed any other player to have that chance. Be it through tight and rugged defense or by committing a foul.
