Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most successful players in NBA history. Over the course of his 19-year career in the league, Shaq won it all, from individual accolades to NBA Championships. To be precise, the Diesel’s resume consists of four rings, three Finals MVPs, a regular season MVP and a whole slew of other rewards. All rewards of his skill and hard work.
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However, all that winning came with its fair share of losing too. And, as O’Neal revealed to WNBA superstar Candace Parker on his podcast, he hated losing. Especially when it happened in the 1995 NBA Finals.
Shaquille O’Neal recalls the 1995 NBA Finals against the Rockets and his hatred for losing it
Losing isn’t fun for anybody and that is specifically true for a serial winner like Shaquille O’Neal. Despite winning four NBA Championships, Shaq knows the pain of being on the losing end.
Speaking to Candace Parker on ‘The Big Podcast’, The Big Aristotle discussed what it was like losing in an NBA Finals. Parker herself has had the experience too, losing in a Game 5 in the WNBA Finals. But, Shaq’s experience was far more embarrassing, considering he and the Magic were swept back in 1995 by the Houston Rockets.
He would even go on to state that losing in an early Playoff run is far better than losing in the Finals, describing 1995 as his hardest summer in the process.
“We never wanna lose. But, I’d rather lose in an early Playoff run than to get to the Finals. Like my first Finals, we got swept and that was the hardest summer ever. Like man!…and then the next year you don’t make, you don’t make it, you don’t make it.”
Frankly, the big fella makes a great point. Sometimes it’s easier to lose early on and come back stronger the next year. As opposed to that, having your hopes riding high in the finals only to then crash out seems something akin to torture. But, then again, to know the taste of victory even once, you must feel the pain of loss about a billion times over.
Shaq came back strong and ended up winning 3 NBA Championships in a row and 4 overall
Losing the 1995 NBA Finals was heartbreaking for Shaquille O’Neal. But, he wouldn’t be a Hall of Famer, let alone a basketball icon if he wallowed in his misery. It took some time, but five years later, Shaq came back stronger than ever, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to three NBA titles between 2000 and 2002.
When he decided to switch allegiances to the Heat, the man would go on to win yet another title. And while the pain of the Finals loss must’ve been deafening at times, something tells us the 4 rings helped him out just a tad bit.
Talk about greatness being personified. There can be no denying that despite his failures, Shaq is a warrior and certainly one of the best to ever lace ’em up.
Also Read: E-mail Fiasco Led to Shaunie Discovering Shaquille O’Neal’s Affair With Teammate’s Fiance
