Shaquille O?Neal Was Advised to Join the Army as He Was Terrible at Basketball

Shaquille O’Neal has been one of the NBA’s greatest players ever. There is nothing that he has not achieved in his 20-year long career. Shaq played the game for a long time and dominated it for its entirety. Shaq had a Hall of Fame career. Moreover, he recently got inducted into the top 75 list of the NBA.

However, there was a moment in Shaq’s life when his dreams of playing in the NBA were far-fetched. He believed in himself, however, others did not. He was still a dominant player in his high school days, but he was advised to pursue dreams other than basketball.

Shaq started his high school basketball journey as a 6’8 center. The comments about him were not so nice. He recalled in a meeting with The Dallas Morning News. The LA Lakers legend said the advice given to him was, “Terrible. Might as well join the Army”. However, Shaq never let the haters influence his decisions.

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The odds were stacked completely against him. He was in a decent high school, but there were many high-level high school basketball players at the time. He also lacked the publicity that the others had gained. Shaq recalls people telling him, “Going to a small school, you won?t get publicity, you won?t get notoriety.”

Shaquille O’Neal’s legendary career

Shaquille O’Neal is often regarded as the NBA’s most dominant big man. He always managed to use his physical attributes to his advantage. The Diesel used his height and bodyweight to fearlessly drive towards the rim. He used to attack the basket like a tank.

Shaq was pretty athletic for a big man. He ran up and down the court effortlessly and was pretty athletic and agile. Shaq had a good vision, even though he was a center. He lacked in shooting from mid-range, however; he made up for it by being extremely explosive inside the paint.

Shaq was a 15-time All-Star and a 2-time scoring champ throughout his career. He won the MVP award once, and the Finals MVP thrice. The Hall of Famer also won the NBA championship four times. Three times with the Lakers and once with Miami Heat.

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Although, it is important to mention that diamonds are only formed under intense pressure. All NBA fans everywhere must thank Shaq for not giving up. He revolutionized the Center position and blessed the fans with countless years of highlights.