Shaquille O’Neal is widely considered to be the most dominant force the NBA has ever seen. Standing at 7’1″ and weighing a massive 324 pounds, we’d say that assessment would be an understatement. He was unstoppable and often gave opposing defenses nightmares. So immense was his strength, that even a simple shove could do severe damage. Like it did with Vern Fleming, who lost a few teeth.
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Back in 1994, the Orlando Magic had a bit of a rivalry going with the Pacers. Indiana was able to keep up because their defensive efforts coupled with Reggie Miller‘s relentless scoring allowed never let Shaq and his team perform to their highest level.
But, no one ever truly stops Shaq. The big man was a bully in the paint and simply ran through most of his opponents. And, unfortunately for Fleming, he was forced to become a victim of this phenomenon on April 2nd of 1994. Something as Sports Illustrated found out, he wasn’t too pleased about.
Shaquille O’Neal once left Vern Fleming with five lost teeth and needing fifteen stitches on his knee
During the 1993-94 season, the Orlando Magic took on the Indiana Pacers in a regular season game. It was a normal match for the most part, as both stars on each team showed off their skills.
Shaquille O’Neal ended the night with 36 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 blocks. But, the Pacers’ Reggie Miller did him one better, with 38 points, and led Indiana to a 128-113 win over their Eastern Conference rivals. However, the win was probably the last thing on their minds, as role player Vern Fleming was the one who unfortunately made the headlines. Here is what happened.
“Fleming might have been forgiven if he had picked up his first T on April 2, when O’Neal crashed onto him from behind as Fleming was completing a breakaway layup. The carnage: five lost teeth, 15 stitches in his knee and no foul call on Shaq. ‘Everyone else was running down to the other end of the court,” says Fleming, “and I was on the ground looking for my teeth.'”
Fleming was understandably peeved, after all, no foul was called on Shaq. Something that was a regular occurrence with the referees who officiated Big Diesel’s games. So, teams adopted the only method they knew would work on the big man – triple-teaming him.
Shaq was so dominant a force that teams began putting three players on him just to stop him
By his second year in the NBA, it was common knowledge that Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t a player that could be defended easily. Given his size and his strength it was difficult for two, let alone one defender to manage him. So, teams wisened up and started putting three men on The Big Aristotle.
A wise strategy, that worked on occasion. But, this is Shaq we are talking about, there were times he managed to break through even three mean, thus starting his reign as the most dominant player ever.
He truly was a marvel of a player, one that very few had an explanation for. He was an unstoppable force that no one could ever dream of contending with.
