Shaquille O’Neal Once Confessed Why Kevin Garnett Was His Role Model

Shaquille O’Neal has always been regarded as one of the most dominating players to ever exist in the game. He terrorized the league with his immense physical presence for almost 20 years. He was known for being ruthless on the back end of the court. Shaq always used his body, both offensively and defensively.

Shaq was 7 feet 1 inch and 325 pounds and an absolute unit. Opponents usually tend to get scared when they saw Shaq running to the rim. The 15-time All-Star recently revealed his true nature as a big man. Shaq said he always admired Kevin Garnett and his ability to play outside the paint.

Garnett was one of the few big men who had an overall developed game. Shaq said, “Believe it or not, I wanted to be like Kevin Garnett. I wanted to fade up, shoot threes.” Shaq has always lacked in terms of dribbling and shooting the ball. Therefore, Shaq looked up to Garnett and his ability to do the same.

However, Shaq soon realized the advantages of being one of the biggest men in the NBA. He started using his body against defenders to score. Consequently, Shaq realized what was best for him. In regard to his dominating character on the court, Shaq said, “Let me establish this, let me just do this.”

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The Diesel explained how he found his role in the league. He said, “I wanted to fade away and cross people. But that was my niche, to beat people up”. He further explained, “I wasn’t trying to be the best. I was just trying to win.” However, he turned out to be one of the best in the entire history of the sport.

Shaquille O’Neal’s Hall of Fame career?

Shaquille O’Neal had one of the best overall careers anyone could wish for. He played in the league with all the legends and still established himself as one of the greatest. He dominated the Forward and Center positions for almost all his career.

Shaq established his dominance by being the scoring champ twice. He was also the MVP and the Rookie of the Year once. Moreover, he has 4 championships and 3 Finals MVPs to his name.

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Even after being retired, he has helped countless people with his acts of generosity. Additionally, he is an active member in restoring his community.