Speaking on the “The Big Podcast,” 4x champion and NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal explained his age-old rivalry with Dikembe Mutombo. According to Shaq, he likes Mutombo’s game but isn’t a fan of the way he disrespected him during the NBA Finals.
“I like him, but it’s like a new rapper coming in and saying, ‘T.I.’s not a great rapper.’ Don’t disrespect me,” said Shaq. “During the Finals, Uncle Jerome comes in and goes, ‘Hey man Mutombo says he’s Defensive Player of the Year, he don’t need no double-team.’ Don’t disrespect me by saying you gonna play me one-on-one. I take that as a sign of disrespect. So I’m looking at the paper, ‘I’m Defensive Player of the Year, I can play Shaq one-on-one.’ It’s a sign of disrespect. It’s like any new rapper coming in and saying, ‘What T.I. did ain’t all that.’ So I get it and the first play of the game I look and the double ain’t come. I said, ‘Oh okay I’m knocking teeth outta his head of something…'”
As a 7-1, 325-pound beast, Shaquille O’Neal was a monster under the rim and he couldn’t be stopped when he had the ball in his spots. With physical play and a ridiculously imposing size, Shaq literally bullied his opponents night after night and he wasn’t afraid to respond with force when challenged.
At the end of 19 years, Shaq wasn’t just a legendary Lakers star, he was among the most dominant players ever and he didn’t take heat from anybody on the court — especially his challengers. When it comes to Mutombo, it’s no secret that Shaq has some problems with the man over their encounter in the 2001 NBA Finals and it’s still something that he’s thinking about today.
What Happened In The 2001 NBA Finals?
Going back almost 23 years ago, Shaquille O’Neal was just 29 years old when he ran into Iverson and Mutombo’s 76ers in the Finals. After winning the championship the season before, and an MVP the season before that, Shaq was at the peak of his confidence and it showed in the way he played on the court.
Throughout this stretch, it was pretty much necessary to bring help on Shaq defensively and double him in the post whenever he caught the ball but Dikembe Mutombo wanted to try a different strategy. As the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Mutombo felt he could take Shaq straight up and he let the big fella know about it.
After winning Game 1 (with 13 points and 16 rebounds), the 76ers thought they had found a formula to take down the Lakers but they’d go on to lose the next four straight games as Shaq was named Finals MVP for the second straight year. O’Neal averaged 33.0 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game in the series.
By the end, Shaq made Dikembe pay for the “disrespect” with sheer dominance on the court and it’s a moment that he hasn’t let the man live down even after 20+ years. To this day, Shaq holds great resentment for Dikembe’s words in the series and it still serves as a stark reminder of what would happen when you pissed off the Diesel.
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