Shaquille O’Neal throughout his career has always toyed around with the idea of being a second man. For some reason, the “most dominant ever”, often relinquished his position as the alpha. When he rolled around to Cleveland he immediately declared LeBron James as the King. “It’s his team”, were his first words as a Cavalier. A rather cavalier attitude from a person considered unstoppable in the paint.
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At the start of his career, he wanted to be the alpha. In Los Angeles, he was the king, until Kobe Bryant stepped up. Then he went to Miami, where another young hotshot was taking over, that time Shaq immediately declared he was bowing out. Superman and the Flash were the new duos in town.
In Phoenix, well, erm, let’s move on from that one quickly. Finally, in Cleveland, he had the chance to be a sidekick to another young and gunning superstar. The chosen one.
But more than a sidekick, Shaquille O’Neal had declared himself a bodyguard to LeBron James. The young stalwart was in his quest for his first NBA title and old man Shaq was ready to defend him from the assassins of the East.
Shaquille O’Neal arrived in Cleveland to be a bodyguard to LeBron James
“Everybody is going to say, Whose team is it?”, Shaq told Sports Illustrated in 2009. Just mere days after getting signed on to the team, O’Neal was already greasing the gears.
“It’s his team. I want you to print that in double-black-bold print: It’s his team. He’s the King, and the Cavs have hired a known hit-man bodyguard. My job is to protect him. The team is his team, he’s the s—, and I’m his backup.” He told SI.
A hit-man/bodyguard, not too dignified of Shaq, but he was only here to do one thing, chase a ring. And he was well aware of the supernova-esque talent that LeBron possessed.
“Oh, yeah, I knew,”: Shaq saw LeBron’s potential during his high school days
As per the Lakers legend himself, he saw LeBron James playing in Akron, Ohio. During a road trip with the Los Angeles Lakers, O’Neal had the chance to see James play for St. Vincent-St. Mary.
“Oh, yeah, I knew. I was very surprised (that) at a young age he had the all-around game because usually with young players they do one thing that’s great. But he had it all already—he was a great passer looking for his teammates, a great leaper, a great personality. The thing I respect about LeBron is he’s very humble: He works for his name, and he has a strategy to be the King. He’s a hard worker who works for what he gets.”, Shaq told SI when he was quizzed about it.
Ultimately, the ring chase was to no avail. Shaq played just 53 games during the season and averaged 12 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Far off from his usual numbers.
Moreover, his impact was further limited when he featured in just 2 games. He was traded after just one season. We guess James just needed a change of guard.
