The ‘most dominant player ever‘ might be one of the few uncontested tags in the league as no one can claim that over Shaquille O’Neal. But with that physique, Shaq was always the target for fouls from the opposition. During an appearance on the ‘Legends Of Sport’ podcast, his ex-teammate and good friend Rick Fox talked about the thing that puzzled him the most about Shaq. The three-time NBA Champion said that while everyone remembers Shaq from their memories of watching him play, it was a very different experience for those on the court with him.
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Fox said that even the people who watched him from courtside got to experience the intensity. The former NBA star said that even with his physique, Shaq had the movement and speed of a guard, and watching that was a surreal experience, to say the least.
Fox said that Shaq was almost unstoppable on the court and even with three players hanging on to him, he’d still get the bucket. But the most confusing part of his game was that despite the opposition latching onto him, there was rarely any foul called.
This gave birth to the Hack-a-Shaq defense technique which allowed the opposition to commit personal fouls against Shaq and they didn’t have to worry about the consequences as the big fella couldn’t shoot free throws to save his life.
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With all the vicious defense at play, Shaq somehow managed to remain levelheaded and it was puzzling for his ex-teammate. Fox said, “I used to say to him, big fella, I really appreciate you because I don’t understand how you don’t punch, you don’t get into fights every 10th game.”
The 54-year-old said that Shaq has such a good heart and was a fierce competitor, so he never let the opposition’s tactics get into his head. However, there was a time when even Shaq lost his cool and took a step to curb excessive fouls on him.
Shaquille O’Neal complained about the Hack-a-Shaq technique
When the opposition couldn’t find a suitable solution against Shaq, fouls started coming into the picture. Initially, it wasn’t a problem for the big fella but after some time, he started getting frustrated by the constant efforts against him.
It reached a point where Shaq approached the then NBA commissioner David Stern and complained about the fouls being made against him. Stern’s response to his problem completely changed Shaq’s outlook on the situation.
During a conversation with ESPN he said, “Son if we call every foul that was committed on you, the game would last four hours.’ And I thought about it like, you right. And he said, ‘Shaq, you’re over here complaining about fouling? I’ve got 28 teams complaining about you.’ And I’m all about the game. I don’t want to shoot 100 free throws anyway.” Shaq unveiled that the conversation with Stern fueled him be unstoppable on the court.
