Arguably the greatest big man to ever play the game, Shaquille O’Neal apparently resorts to cheating to win games. According to the latest confession by his sons Shareef and Shaqir, this is what goes down at the O’Neal household when the big fella steps on the court for a game.
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During a recent conversation with The Score, Shareef revealed that whenever they play 1v1, the NBA legend always comes up with excuses or sneaky methods to get ahead of his opponents in 1v1 games.
Shareef was asked by Brad Parker – who would win a 1v1 game right now between him and his Hall of Famer dad. The 24-year-old scoffed at the question and said, “Oh me…11-0…”
“This is what he’s [Shaq is] gonna do, he’s gonna back me down and if he misses, it’s a foul, if he makes it, it’s his ball. Any time I go past him, he’s gonna say it’s travel or something like that,” Shareef added.
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Parker couldn’t believe that Shareef was putting these allegations on the big fella. To further strengthen his case, the former LSU star called up his brother Shaqir to attest to his claims.
Even though the 21-year-old said that their father might be able to get a couple of points on them, he didn’t free Shaq of the cheating allegations. Rather, he confirmed his brother’s claims that Shaq cheats at every possible opportunity at home, especially when he’s losing.
The fact of the matter is that the big fella is 52 years old and has been retired from the game for almost a decade and a half. Whereas the two brothers are in their youth, and they put their skills to test on the court regularly. While Shaqir plays for the Texas Southern Tigers, Shareef last played for the NBA G League Ignite.
So, maybe a 1v1 between father and his sons is unfair at this point.
Shaquille O’Neal has the power to defy his age
It is not just his age and being out of practice that will hold back Shaq if he tries to step foot on the court for a competitive game. Another major issue that the big fella might have to overcome is the effects of his hip surgery that he underwent last year.
However, it will be a mistake to undermine the prowess of the man who was once feared by the entire league. A mistake that the TNT Postgame Show crew once made on air.
On the occasion of Shaq’s 50th birthday, the panel of Adam Lefkoe, Candace Parker and NBA veteran Dwyane Wade addressed the question, ‘Can Shaq still dunk?’
While Lefkoe and Parker said that they still believe in the OG Superman, D-Wade trashed Shaq with his response. So, the only thing that Shaq could do was prove his ex-teammate wrong.
The big fella, in his on-set uniform minus the blazer, dunked the ball off one dribble. Now, we can’t say it was as aesthetic or as powerful a dunk as we were once accustomed to seeing from Shaq. But for a 50-year-old man weighing around 350 lbs, it was a pretty good dunk.
