Shaquille O'Neal Bashes Jackson
Miami Heat center Shaq calls Lakers Jackson Benedict Arnold
Dec 27, 2006
Like many great professional athletes, Shaquille O'Neal is ruining his legacy by running his mouth.
Shaq, who has won NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, is widely regarded as the best center to play in the NBA, since Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. As his career winds down, though, O'Neal is playing less, looking mortal and turning heads only with the stupid things he says.
In the past, Shaquille O'Neal has vilified Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming, among others, for no apparent reason.
Upon leaving the Los Angeles Lakers for sunny Miami, Shaq said he never needed Kobe and when asked about him in multiple interviews constantly answered with an arrogant, "Who?"
When Shaq was about to encounter Chinese hero Yao Ming for the first time, O'Neal refused to recognize the future star, making a racial slur about Yao, instead.
Now, Shaquille O'Neal, whom we see more often on the sidelines in a suit than on a basketball court tossing down thunderous dunks, is at it again. When Shaq's former coach, Phil Jackson, announced that O'Neal was not one to practice hard during his time with the Lakers, Shaq responded by calling Jackson, Benedict Arnold.
Shaquille O'Neal is by anyone's standards one of the best players in the history of the NBA. His statistics in a career spanning 15 seasons are nothing shy of remarkable.
Shaq's per game totals over 945 NBA games tell the on-the-court story of a legitimate superstar:
- 26.3 points
- 11.8 rebounds
- 2.5 blocked shots
- 2.8 assists
- 58% FG
- 37 minutes
O'Neal's 53% free throw accuracy is the only blemish on his NBA statistical resume.
Off of the basketball court, Shaquille O'Neal has been life imitating art -- mostly bad art.
He's made numerous horrific movies and CDs.
Whether he is known as Shaq Diesel, The Big Aristotle, Doctor Shaq or some other outlandish self-proclaimed moniker, O'Neal is a blimp-sized balloon, propelled in most cases by his own hot air.
Shaq is neither forgiving nor kind. He behaves like an attention-starved child, even though his achievements as a player are deserving of praise and adulation.
In the end, though, fans and experts, alike, will remember Shaquille O'Neal as the guy who made bad movies, bad music and bad commentary.
Shaq, they'll say, hated those who were beloved and truly great -- Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming and Phil Jackson.
And when it comes to admiring skill on the basketball court, guys like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and even Yao, will always be remembered ahead of Shaq, who ruined his legacy by running his mouth.
