“You Should’ve Done That”: Despite Dominating His Opponents, Shaquille O’Neal Failed to Impress His Father Until He Attained “Perfection”

Sergeant Phillip A. Harrison knowingly or unknowingly has played a huge role in shaping NBA history. After all, he is the stepfather of four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal. Harrison took care of a young Shaq and his mother, Lucille O’Neal, after he entered their lives. Similar to Lucille O’Neal, Harrison was quite harsh on his son more often than not. However, that was for Shaq’s own good as he grew up in a hostile environment.

During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the Los Angeles Lakers legend detailed living in a ‘drill sergeant environment’ which ultimately instilled a winning mentality into him.

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal reveals how his father was never satisfied

Sergeant Phillip A. Harrison shaped his son’s life in more than just one way. Not only did he instill a sense of discipline in a young Shaquille O’Neal, but Harrison also motivated Shaq to do better.

During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the 7-foot-1 inches tall NBA legend hilariously talked about how some people perceive him as an alien. Subsequently, he delved into his early life growing up under the tutelage of a Sergeant father.

Shaq said, “Growing up in a drill sergeant environment, my dad wasn’t you know satisfied with good enough. So we had to damn near perfect so, you know whenever I score 30 points and somebody said he had a dominant game, I said you missed 12 free throws.”

The four-time NBA champion has talked about growing up with Phillip A. Harrison numerous times. During Shaq’s early years, Harrison was his son’s biggest critic who was never satisfied.

Even if Shaq scored 50 points, the Army veteran would point out some of his mistakes during the game. Although Shaq was a good kid who listened to his parents and took their advice most of the time, he sometimes rebelled.

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Shaq’s rebellion once left his father shocked

The NBA Hall of Famer played college-level basketball for the LSU Tigers. Although Shaq was already brilliant for his age, the opposition’s fouls to stop him were very rough which could have resulted in some serious injuries. Naturally, this made O’Neal paranoid about this future.

This also led to his first rebellion against Harrison when the youngster wanted to go pro. During a segment of the ‘Shaq’ documentary, he said, “Go home. Same Argument. Man, f**k that. They f***ing me up in school. I’m going. And it was the first time he looked back at me and he realized he had created a man”

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Ultimately Shaq’s rebellion bore fruit. He went pro and was drafted as the #1 overall pick during the 1992 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic.