Phil Jackson motivated Shaquille O’Neal to play 48 minutes by giving example of NBA legend who benches 500lbs

Phil Jackson motivated Shaquille O’Neal to play 48 minutes by giving example of NBA legend who benches 500lbs

Shaquille O’Neal was one of the most dominant forces in the NBA, but to find motivation, his coaches used some interesting techniques.

The LA legend was the catalyst of the Lakers dynasty in the 2000s. He was the star of a team that won three titles in a row, forming a dynamic duo with Kobe Bryant.

There was nobody who could stop Shaq back in the day. He was the most dominant physical force to have ever played basketball, and he completely owned the paint.

Shaq was a menace on both sides of the ball. He could control the paint with his size, deterring anyone who dared to enter. We haven’t seen anyone dominant the inside game quite like Shaq since his glory days. Back then, he was an absolute beast to watch.

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Phil Jackson used to motivate Shaquille O’Neal with Wilt Chamberlain’s ‘never die’ attitude

Phil Jackson goes down as one of the most legendary coaches of all time. He was the spark for the 1990s Bulls which won six championships on the back of two consecutive three peats.

Then, he found his way to LA, where he helped lead Shaq and Kobe to three straight championships. He also won another two titles with the Lakers after the Kobe-Shaq era in 2009 and 2010. He has a total of 11 rings. Phil Jackson has a net worth of $70 million, and he’s the only coach to win multiple championships with different teams.

When he took on Shaq and the Lakers, he knew he had talent with his players, but he needed to find that extra spurt of energy from everyone, particularly his star, Shaq.

Shaq has always had trouble staying motivated and willing to go the extra mile with his training. Phil Jackson pushed Shaq to be like Wilt Chamberlain, but not in the way you’d think.

He asked Shaq about what Wilt’s biggest achievement was. Shaq quickly pointed out that it was the season he averaged 50 points per game and 30 rebounds per game, but Phil Jackson said that was wrong. He reminded him that it was Wilt playing every minute of every game. Wilt Chamberlain’s also the same man to bench 500 pounds.

The formula clearly worked as Shaq won four rings in his career.

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Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
Los Angeles Lakers NBA Shaquille O'Neal

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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