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“Larry Bird Said I Would Be the GOAT of Centers!”: Shaquille O’Neal Once Opened Up on How Celtics Legend Made Him Great

Tonoy Sengupta
Published

Shaquille O'Neal Shares Story of Larry Bird Toying With the Hawks and Making Their Bench His Fans

Shaquille O’Neal is one of those ultra-lovable, massive teddy bear-esque people today. After all, he has set up this massive, massive image of a fun-loving man, who is also one of the kindest, most generous people on the planet, helping out complete strangers whenever he can.

But of course, while he was in the NBA, things were very different.

He was known as the big bad bully. Especially during his prime, this man would simply use his size to strong-arm just about any and every big man in the league to get what he wanted.

Now, of course, his stepfather played a massive part in him becoming the player he did. But, right before he got into the NBA, it appears that Larry Bird decided to pay him a massive favor too.

Let’s get into it, shall we?

Also Read: “LeBron James Can Retire, We Have Ben Simmons”: NBA Analyst’s Horrendous Take On Lakers and Nets Stars Resurfaces

 

Shaquille O’Neal was given a massive compliment by Larry Bird on live television

Larry Bird is one of the greatest players to ever pick up a basketball. And of course, the Hick from French Lick’s stories of savagery knows no limits.

But, it appears that the man wasn’t always in the business of humiliating every other person on the planet. No, sometimes he dished out a few compliments too.

And as Shaq revealed, he was lucky enough to be at the center of one of those occasions before he even got into the NBA.

Until the very end of his career, Shaquille O’Neal probably kept thanking Larry Bird in his head for giving him all that confidence.

However, Chris Dudley was probably cussing the legend out for his words on a very specific day.

Shaquille O’Neal once almost made Chris Dudley cry

During his prime in the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal was pulling all sorts of things… including shattering other people’s confidence with his own.

Yikes.

We hope Chris Dudley has recovered from the trauma on that one.

Also Read: “Zion Williamson Humiliated Chris Paul Again!!”: Kendrick Perkins Gets Sizzlingly Savage on the Suns After Their Humiliation

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

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Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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