Shaq: A Sit-Down With The Last Don
Shaquille O'Neal (photo. Chenoa Maxwell)
Dime: Who is the best player you ever played against?
Shaq: Hakeem Olajuwon. No doubt. He had all that shit to his game and you just couldn’t break him. All the other guys I’ve played against, I could get physical with them or say stuff about them in the papers to shake them. And it always worked. But I couldn’t shake Hakeem.
Dime: Are there any young guys coming up now who you feel give you a real battle?
Shaq: No. The only thing these young guys might have on me now is speed. Sometimes they can run around me, or by me and sometimes even over me. But never through me. Never.
Dime: Do any of those young guys, or other young players in the League ever come to you for advice?
Shaq: Not really. A lot of these guys live in their own experience and their own brand and they’re wrapped up. Remember, we all have egos. When I came in I didn’t want to hear anything from anybody. I know how I was, so I don’t expect guys to come to me and it doesn’t bother me that they don’t.
Dime: When your contract expires, assuming that you’ll retire, where will you be? What will you be doing?
Shaq: I’m going to be in Orlando. I’m going to be in law enforcement. I want to be sheriff of that town. I want to be in the areas where I speak the language. This is not a joke; it’s not just for show. I really want to be working where it will matter most. I will be walking those streets saying, “This is what’s up.â€
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June 2nd, 2011 at 8:46 am
heckler says:
ATTN ALL–
Does Shaq rank higher than Hakeem Olajuwon on the all-time great centers list?
Can Shaq be anything better than 4th alltime?
I heard these rankings as recently as this morning:
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Hakeem Olajuwon
Shaquille O’Neal
hmmm….do you all agree with those rankings?
June 2nd, 2011 at 9:47 am
kyballer312 says:
I guess it depends on the criteria of those rankings. Rings? Game impact? What are we using if it’s rings then he has to be at least 3rd. If its game impact (rules enacted to help defend you) then he is 2nd. I can’t put him any higher than 4th myself
1. Bill Russell (winningest ever)
2. Wilt Chamberlain (rule changer)
3. Hakeem Olajuwon (smoothest)
4. Shaquille O’Neal (most forceful)
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (best offensive weapon)
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:09 am
Ian says:
depends on how u rank em
if i go by in their primes using the 90s center i like them
admiral
hakeem
shaq
if i add how long they did it and accomplishments i would rank them
shaq
hakeem
admiral
since i have to take everything in consideration it should be shaq hakeem admiral.
kyballer
kareem 5th??
heckler
i know im the only one thats going to say this but i have russell like 6th alltime on my centers list.
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:14 am
Aron Phillips says:
To echo what David Stern said yesterday, there will never be another Shaq.
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:43 am
K Dizzle says:
Ian
11 rings automatically put Russell no.1
You can’t downgrade player based on the era he played in.
Wilt’s numbers should put him 2nd.
Kareem’s combination of numbers n rings put him 3.
I don’t know why Hakeem always gets put in front of Shaq.
Career:Shaq – 24pts, 11rbs, 3 as, 2.7 blks, 58% FG, 4 rings
Career:Hakeem -22pts, 11rbs, 2.5as, 3 blks, 51%FG, 2 rings
So Shaq ahead of Hakeem
June 2nd, 2011 at 11:04 am
Ian says:
Dizzle
Going by that russell should be 1 overall then. If you rank jordan or someone else ahead of him your list is kinda off. Now to you is russell the greatest ever? If yes then ok if no then I can rank him 6th.
June 2nd, 2011 at 11:24 am
Nyeme says:
I would have
1. Wilt – ridiculous stats
2. Kareem – leading scorer, rings
3. Russell – rings, but other than that….
4. Dream – if I was starting a team, I would take Dream over Shaq
5. Shaq
June 2nd, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Soopa says:
Its so tough comparing Russells/Wilts era to the current. I mean wouldnt Shaq absolutely destroy the competition back then?
To me its Hakeem vs Shaq in the current era. Ewing and Robinson doesnt quite make the cut.
If Hakeem had the personality of Shaq wouldnt he declare himself M.D.E.? I mean Hakeem cleaned the floor with Robinson, Shaq, Ewing, all in their prime, and they are all Hall of Fame players!
I dont wanna decide between them. They are both dominate but with completely different styles, finesse vs power.
June 2nd, 2011 at 12:22 pm
alex "robocop" murphy says:
I like Hakeem over them all. I just think the quality of centers he faced in his prime was better than what Shaq has faced over his career.
Hakeem over Ewing, Dikembe, Daugherty, Alonzo, Parish, Willis, Robinson, Campbell, Divac, Smits,
June 2nd, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Ian says:
Soopa
Check the head to head stats and wins of hakeem vs robinson and shaq and tell me again if he cleaned the floor with them. Basketball reference has the head to head stats. Hakeem only desstroyed ewing (so did robinson and shaq) the others he played to a draw stats wise cuz he lost most games vs them.
I personally like dream and the admiral more than shaq but there’s no way he ranks lower than any of them alltime.
Btw wtf is up with the robinson (mvp, champ, scoring tile, defensive player of the year, rookie of the year) vs ewing (nothing) comparison?
June 2nd, 2011 at 12:57 pm
heckler says:
@ Ian–
Bill Russell 6th best all time center?
You do know that Bill Russell is 2nd all time in total rebounds right? SECOND EVER?
..and thats in an era of better shooters when there were less overall rebounds
June 2nd, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Ian says:
heckler
“and thats in an era of better shooters when there were less overall rebounds”
shit im sorry man but shoulda done some googling before posting that bs. teams back then shot high 30s and low 40s. they still avged over 110ppg shooting like crap imagine how many boards are available in a game like that. rodman has the highest rebound percentage in the nba and he avged around 7 rebs less than russell doesnt that tell you something about your era of better shooters and less rebounds. yeah hes second ever in total rebounds and??? he couldnt score like the other centers thats why i have him that low. again thanks for that made up fact you just posted there.
June 2nd, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Ian says:
sorry i meant “you shoulda done some googling”