Shaquille O’Neal was one of the most dominant centers of his generation. In fact, he is credited with revolutionizing the role of a center in the NBA. During his 19-year-old career, Shaq won four championships, three with the Lakers and one with the Heat. After his retirement, he became a successful businessman and also analyses NBA games on TNT.
Shaq played for six different teams in his NBA career. However, he is prominently known for his role in the three-peat win with the Lakers. Shaq weighed more than 300 pounds during the early 2000s and it was often the talking point among the NBA circles. The 7’1″ former NBA star often had to listen to a thing or two regarding his height as well.
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However, he managed to combine his footwork and touch during his career and dominate teams. In fact, playing so well as he did during the Lakers‘ three-peat with his weight deserves applause. With so much experience with him, Shaq realized that one shouldn’t take these opinions seriously and focus on themselves. He recently opened up on the new generation being sensitive and gave his thoughts on that.
Shaquille O’Neal opens up new generation’s sensitivity
Shaq recently appeared for an interview on ‘The Jordan Harbinger Show‘. During the show, Shaq was asked about listening to comments about his height. To this, Shaq revealed that he learned to not take these things seriously at an early age.
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“I think the times we’re living in, people are very sensitive,” Shaq said.
He added, “Yeah, I respect you. You respect me. I guarantee we have something in common. See, a lot of people these days, you think a certain way and you try to influence me to think that way. The world wasn’t built like that. Every fingerprint is different, every DNA is different, and everybody’s opinion is different. And a lot of times we react to people’s opinions without listening.”
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Shaq had a successful NBA career spanning 19 years. With so many comments on his height and weight during the early 2000s, not many would have imagined Shaq in the league for so long. In fact, Shaq retired in 2011, nine years after winning his three-peat with the Lakers.
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No player is immune to criticism. Criticism can often lead to decreasing performance in athletes. However, Shaq has managed to battle all that and had a successful NBA career. Even after his retirement, he is among the richest athletes in the world with a huge net worth.