As evidenced by his TV work, Shaq loves to talk. Now that’s he’s being enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, he’s going to talk even more about how the game he once dominated and owned has changed from when he dominated and owned it.
The 44 year old has plenty of thoughts about how the game has changed, particularly for players of his ilk – centers. He said as much during an interview with The Vertical when asked about the lack of true centers in the league.
“There won’t be another one like me, and like Yao, ever again. We feel the dearth of the real center. I believe the way that I dominated, I made guys not want to come inside and feel the pain. That’s why you have a lot of guys stepping out and shooting jumpers now. We’re all products of our environment, so when I was coming up, I saw big men playing in the middle. The kids saw me playing and realized that they couldn’t endure the pain and nor did they want to take the pain. So they started shooting jumpers – a la Dirk Nowitzki.”
He also added this about how he feels he never even reached his true potential,
“I only played 30 percent of my real game,” O’Neal told The Vertical. “I had a great career, but I didn’t get a chance to showcase what I can really do. That’s because the double- and triple-teams were coming so quick, I had to dominate, dominate, dominate inside. I had the ability to step out, go around defenders, dribble by people, but I never got to show that.
“I had to focus on being the most powerful, dominant player to ever play the game.”
He also added in comments about Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, hack-a-Shaq rules and more, and fittingly, he talked and talked as he always does. His comments are always worth reading.
