19 Year Old Shaquille O’Neal Goes Viral for Being a “Babyfaced Assassin” Before Stephen Curry Amid “March Madness”

Shaquille O’Neal was one of the few players who showed signs of greatness even in the early days. He caught everyone’s eye pretty early. Additionally, his game was ahead and better than most playing with him. His humongous size and enormous physique made it easy to spot the immense talent Shaq possessed. Even in his high school and college playing days, he was always under the radar of a strong prospect for the future. Boy, did he live up to his promise and potential!

Shaquille O’Neal attended his high school from Cole and he completed college from Louisiana State University (LSU). Ever since his time in LSU, Shaq has been turning heads. His dominance was clear from his games for the university. As Orlando Magic drafted Shaq as their 1st pick overall and obviously in no time, everybody knew he was going to be one of the best in history.

WATCH THIS STORY: Shaq’s height compared with the tallest players in NBA history.

Shaquille O’Neal March Madness throwback 

30 years ago, Shaq dropped a performance that laid a solid base for his career. At the time, he was playing for the LSU Tigers in the NCAA during March Madness. He led his team to a victory against the BYU Cougars. Notably, he scored a triple double with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks.

Here are the highlights of Shaq’s monster performance.

Shaq’s wild performance as a 20-year-old was one for the ages. A triple double with 13 rebounds and 11 blocks was absolutely insane. He was miles above his opponents and it was evident as he literally looked like a “man amongst children”. This was just the start of things to come. After spending 3 years at Magic, Shaq traded to the Lakers and really found himself. They deservedly termed him as the Lakers legend because his form at the time was unstoppable and his partnership with Kobe ruled the NBA for years.

Read more: Shaq opens up about Kobe Bryant.

Shaq at 20, still showed a lot of maturity for a young man like him. He always knew his strengths and talent. Furthermore, he knew how to dominate games and win them for his team. Shaquille O’Neal was really the ‘babyfaced assassin’ before the term was attached to Stephen Curry.