Shaquille O’Neal was an unstoppable machine when he was in his prime, no player could hang with Shaq on either end of the floor. O’Neal’s massive size and strength inside, coupled with his explosiveness and elite technique, made him as dominant a player as the league has ever seen.
The center played for the Los Angeles Lakers for most of his prime, winning three consecutive Finals MVP awards to go along with three championships. Alongside Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal turned the Lakers into a team that was almost certain to win the championship before the season even began. But the big man had all the tools to be even greater than he was, with trainer Gary Vitti explaining that this was his dream for the Big Diesel.
(starts at 1:14 minutes)
Gary Vitti: “My dream for Shaq was for him to be the best of all time. That wasn’t his dream. That’s a problem. When you want something for someone more than they want it for themselves. But Shaq’s dream was to inspire young people to follow their dreams at being whatever it is that they want to be. And he has done that. He is the best, I love him. As much as I thought he underachieved on the court, and he was a great achiever, we won three rings, he was the MVP of the Finals.”
Kristine Leahy: “But you feel like he could have been even better?”
Gary Vitti: “He could have been the greatest of all time.”
Shaquille O’Neal famously said he didn’t want to be the GOAT, and instead wanted to be the most dominant player of all time. And while he got close to that, Vitti explained why O’Neal never became the greatest.
Gary Vitti Explained How Shaquille O’Neal’s Size Got In The Way Of His Greatness
The suggestions that Shaquille O’Neal didn’t quite work that hard are a bit unfounded, as he has pointed out himself at times. But he certainly could have done more, with Vitti explaining how his size got in the way.
Kristine Leahy: “We had him on the show and I talked to him. Was part of it that you didn’t feel like you needed to work that hard? Because no one was even out there challenging him. And why put his body through all that when he didn’t need to?”
Gary Vitti: “That’s part of it. The other part of it is the position that he played. And I say this in the book, that it’s really hard for big men. Especially in the days of the dominant center playing in the low post with your back to the basket. The game’s changed now, we don’t see that anymore.
“But you take a little guy and you put him in the gym with a basketball and a hoop, he’ll be a gym rat. He’ll stay there all day, he’ll make believe he’s Kobe Bryant in his head taking last-second shots. He’ll work on his skills and all that. What’s a big guy gonna do? He’s gonna stand under the basket and do the Mikan drill. Left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand, it’s boring.”
These are interesting insights into what made Shaquille O’Neal the player he eventually ended up being. His career is one that almost every other NBA player in history would envy, save a handful. Shaq was part of the last team to three-peat after Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. He won 4 championships, 3 Finals MVPs, and an MVP. He even made All-NBA Defensive Teams. While he may not be the GOAT, Shaquille O’Neal is easily a Top 10 player in history.
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