Shaquille O’Neal has always had a massive stature. For the majority of his illustrious 19-year career, Shaq weighed more than 330 pounds and stood at 7ft 1”. Even at the tender age of 10, O’Neal was much bigger than his peers. During an appearance on the Impaulsive podcast about a year ago, the Los Angeles Lakers legend revealed how decades ago, an opponent’s father couldn’t fathom the fact that he was only 10 years old at the time.
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By the time Shaquille O’Neal was a senior in high school, the center had established himself as a household name. Regarded as one of the greatest prospects entering college basketball, Shaq dominated the high school basketball circuit. While averaging a monstrous 31 points, 22 rebounds, and 6 assists per game, the Big Aristotle led the Robert G. Cole High School to a flawless 36-0 record.
However, the big fella had started to show his potential long before that. According to some reports, Shaq was already 6ft 4″ as a 10-year-old.
Shaquille O’Neal was touted to be the greatest basketball player ever at age 10
On the Impaulsive podcast, Shaq revealed an incident from his childhood. At age 10, his team had clinched a 96-point victory against their opponents. During the course of the contest, he recounted how an opponent’s father stormed the court, questioning Shaq’s age. After learning that he was in fact 10 years old, the father claimed that Shaq could go on to be the greatest basketball player ever.
“Age 10, so we beat this team one time, like 100-4, right?…And I remember this kid, his father running on the court, bad and upset, said ‘no way this kid is 10. If he’s 10, he’s going to be the best basketball player ever.’ And my father was so happy,” Shaq recollected.
Two years after that incident, Shaq decided that his goal was to play in the NBA. After watching Julius Erving live in action, the 12-year-old confided in his father about his dream. Shaq recounted the story to Logan Paul and crew:
“Shortly after that, we went to the Knicks game and I see my favourite guy in the world – Dr. J. He goes baseline, and then the crowd goes crazy. And I always had to address my father as sir, but after that moment I saw Dr. J and I was like ‘sir, I think I know what I want to be. I want to be an NBA player’. And he says to me, 12-years-old, ‘If you listen to me, I’ll make you one of the best big men ever’. And he had a tear in his eye.”
Sgt. Phillip Harrison did hold up to his end of the bargain. Less than a decade after learning about his son’s aspirations, Shaq was drafted into the NBA as the #1 pick. Grabbing some of the highest laurels out there in the league – an MVP, four NBA titles, and three Finals MVPs, “Superman” concluded his career as one of the greatest big men ever.
Shaq respects Sgt. Phillip Harrison above everything else
Shaq has often credited his stepfather, Sgt. Phillip Harrison, for the success he’s witnessed in his career. An army man, Harrison was the one who groomed Shaq to be disciplined and confident. Harrison has provided Shaq with some invaluable advice. During a recent interview with Ahmad Rashad, Shaq disclosed one of them.
Shaq’s father had asked him to be a leader if he wanted to achieve all of his dreams. Listening to this advice, Shaq revealed that all of his dreams have indeed come true.
