Shaquille O’Neal Abandoned His Teammates Only to Steer Clear of 5 Untouchable NBA Opponents

It would be a nightmare to get bullied by Shaquille O’Neal on the defense. The 7ft center was a threat on both ends and for guards who wanted to finish above the rim, it was a dream sometimes. So many would not want to mess with him. Similarly, Shaq is precise with his choices too. He wouldn’t bother guarding a few killer guards. The Los Angeles Lakers legend famously calls it the ‘leave him alone’ list, and he added a new NBA icon to this honor. 

In the latest episode of ‘The Big Podcast’, former LA Clippers point guard Jamal Crawford joined as a guest and Shaq shared what all he did to avoid guarding him back in their primes. The LA champion revealed, “He was always on my list. ‘leave him alone’.” This honorable list involved a few talented guards and forwards that Shaq would not mess with.

The 3x 6MOTY found his own crossovers to make his way to the basket. That made him one of the most influential point guards in the league. Crawford would easily drop some of the best on-ball defenders in the league. Shaquille O’Neal was aware of it, so he never wanted to guard a player like Crawford. He shared, “I know who he was. I’m like a fan. Like I had a couple of so-called defensive players in my team, but they always relied on me. They would do the fake pressure and then try to bring in so that I could block the shot…I’m not helping at all”. 

Well, that sums up why Shaq did not want to guard Crawford. What’s noteworthy is that he is not the only one. There are a few more on the list. 

Who are the four other notable members of Shaquille O’Neal’s ‘Leave him alone’ list? 

As mentioned above, the list has a few guards and forwards who were not just a threat to Shaq, but many others in the league back then. Shaq has revealed it many times in his podcast before, but he mentioned it once again. One on the top of the list would be Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson, aka The Answer. Another underrated guard of the 90s was Jason Williams, who Shaq didn’t want to mess with. 

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White Chocolate has some of the deadliest crossovers that have put his opponents to sleep. The former Sacramento Kings point guard had an incredible layup package as well. So Shaq was not interested in guarding him. Coming to forwards, there was Vince Carter from the Toronto Raptors, who would slam dunk on his opponent’s head. And also, there was Tracy McGrady, who had an unstoppable fadeaway. The latest addition to the list is Jamal Crawford.

So that makes a list of five players that Shaq would not guard in the defense. Let us know your input in the comments below.

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