Shaquille O’Neal had an amazing career in the NBA. He won four NBA Championships, three with the Lakers and one during his stint with the Miami Heat.
Shaq’s longtime, ‘NBA on TNT,’ crewmate Charles Barkley recently disrespected this fourth ring. Barkley believes O’Neal has only won three rings and merely benefitted from being in Dwyane Wade’s shadow for his fourth ring.
“When you played in Miami, you didn’t have four people guarding you,” Barkley said. “They had four people on you in L.A. You got three rings. You were riding on Dwyane Wade’s coattails.”
(Starts at 8:24)
By the time Shaq joined the Heat, he was already starting to show signs of slowing down. Sure, he was a force to be reckoned with during his time with the Lakers. But when he joined the Heat, he was already a secondary superstar.
In the 2006 NBA playoffs, O’Neal averaged 18.4 PPG, 9.8 RPG, and 1.7 APG. On the other hand, Wade averaged 28.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 5.7 APG. He also won the only NBA Finals MVP award of his career as well.
Shaquille O’Neal Once Admitted He Was A ‘Bus Rider’ During His Championship Run with The Miami Heat
During his playing days, Shaquille O’Neal ruined a lot of things due to his ego. Had he put his ego aside, he could have enjoyed an even more fruitful time with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
However, Shaq learned from his mistakes and even admitted that he was a ‘bus rider,’ when he won the fourth ring of his career.
“What that means is, you’re not really that good, not you individually, your team. And when you’re the leader of your team, it all falls back on you. So, that’s what he meant by that, but you know. Yeah, I was a bus rider in my last championship with D-Wade. I started off driving the bus, but I was like, D-Wade, here’s the keys you take it off, and we were able to come back and win. There’s nothing wrong with that, you know, because it’s all a team process.”
If Shaq hadn’t made this admission, he might never have won the fourth NBA title of his career. O’Neal also talked about how he passed the torch to Wade after winning the 2006 NBA title.
The Diesel praised Wade for being a humble guy and made a reference to ‘The Godfather’ movie franchise about making him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
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