Shaquille O’Neal is undoubtedly one of the most dominant players to ever grace the NBA. Shaq recently caught up with Ahmad Rashad on the NBA Rewind show. Rashad who is the host of the show, asked Shaq if he was ‘proud of his achievements.’ Shaq after thinking a little answered the question in affirmative. Though Shaquille O’Neal did say that it was his “entire body of work” that made him proud. Shaq gave his late stepfather Sgt. Phillip Harrison, a lot of credit.
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Sgt. Phillip Harrison understood Shaquille O’Neal well. He knew that Shaq was a stubborn kid who was prone to being attracted to bad habits. Shaq even told Rashad that he would get whooped in front of his entire class. But the beatings were all meant to keep Shaq away from bad decisions, as he was already a medium-level Juvenile Delinquent while in school.
Shaq calls his late step-father advice ‘ life-changing
Shaq recently was a guest on the NBA Rewind with host Ahmad Rashad. While on the show the duo talked all things life and basketball. Towards the end of the podcast, O’Neal opens up to Rashad about his late father’s influence on his life. While talking on the matter, Shaquille O’Neal said:
“I was a medium-level Juvenile Delinquent, and Sgt. Phillip Harrison always told me that the day you learn how to become a leader, is the day when all of your dreams come true.“
Turns out, the advice worked extremely well for Shaq as continued saying:
“All of my dreams have come true. Even now when I create new dreams, I am so focused cause I am a creature of habit. All of my dreams come true even now.”
The Lakers big man wished that his father could see his newfound success, telling Rashad:
“I love my mother and father very much. I wish he was around to see all this. He sadly passed away 10 years ago. I wish I could have said thank you more times than I did. But like I said, thanks to him, all of my dreams have come true.“
Shaq looked very moved as the gentle giant looked rather teary-eyed while going down memory lane.
Shaq gives father credit for helping form the base that would become his $400 million empire
Though the media and many tabloids have presented Shaquille O’Neal to be somewhat of a lazy and unmotivated player, the truth couldn’t be further away. Shaq grew up in an extremely strict household, and the habits that were instilled by his stepfather remained with him for a long time.
Shaq even credits his father for always keeping him hungry and motivated. The Diesel even sighted an example saying:
“I have a chef. I say, ‘You’re only allowed to put one slice of turkey on that sandwich, homie.’ I know I make a lot of money now, but it’s the same thing. You have to push yourself, but you have to be honest with yourself and allow other people to be honest with you.”
Through this interview, we can see that there is much more than meets the eye when it comes to our favorite gentle giant, Shaquille O’Neal.
