Shaquille O’Neal has always spoken highly about his father, Phillip A Harrison. The four-time NBA champion has always given the late military personnel credit for shaping him into the man he is today.

The big man grew up under the tough upbringing of his stepdad, which set the tone for his life. ‘The Big Diesel’ has always emphasized that Harrison instilled discipline in him at a young age to help him embark on the right track. Furthermore, his father was a drill sergeant when Shaq was growing up, which benefited him in developing a no-quit mentality.

Harrison grew up in a disciplinary household, so it stands to reason that he would want Shaq to do the same. He even coached his child’s youth basketball teams and had a goal set in mind for his son’s style of play. He wanted to make the most of his son’s gifts as a big man. Harrison constantly encouraged Shaq to exhibit force and dominance on the basketball court.

This clearly shows how determined he was to develop his child into one of the game’s most dominant big men. Harrison was instrumental in instilling a winning and tough mindset in Shaq. However, as per the NBA legend, his father was solely responsible for him to face defeat at a young age during a big game.

Shaquille O’Neal revealed how his father was responsible for him losing a crucial game when he was 10

Shaquille O’Neal discussed his father on ‘Oprah’s Master Class’. He highlighted how important he was to his development. The Lakers legend also mentioned how Harrison taught him all the sports he knows.

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The four-time champion went on to add that he also taught him how to play basketball and coached him. This was when he narrated the story of his father coaching Shaq’s championship game and being responsible for them losing that match.

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“One time, I wanna say I was 10 years old. We were in a championship game. So I’ll usually start the game, me and my guys and then he’ll put the guys who couldn’t play, put them in, and then we finish the game,” said Shaq. “He flip-flopped it this time. My father takes me out and he puts in a couple of guys who couldn’t play and then we lost the championship. I got the second place trophy and I was pretty upset,” added the big man.

Shaq then recounts confronting his father and receiving a strict explanation. “I asked him, I said ‘Why did you do that’ and he said ‘Listen! It’s not about you all the time. These kids, they come, they practice hard, they do the same drills that you do. They wanted to play…it’s not all about winning.'”

“I was like, ‘But I was trying to win the number one trophy’ and he said, ‘You win the number one trophy when you go to college or you go to the NBA. Don’t worry about it.’ And when he said don’t worry about it, I had no choice but not to worry about it,'” Shaq concluded.

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It’s reasonable to conclude that his father cost his team the game by benching Shaq. However, by putting in the kids who couldn’t play, he demonstrated that it’s about much more than simply winning. It would have been a memorable moment for those children. Harrison strengthened their confidence by putting them in the championship game. This speaks volumes about how great a mentor he was.

While Shaquille O’Neal may not have realized it at the time, he surely does now. Harrison asked his son to win that number one trophy when he reaches the NBA. And Shaq did it a remarkable four times.

What do you think about Phillip A. Harrison as a mentor? Let us know in the comments section below.