Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant players in NBA history, constantly dominating rivals, showing his impressive moves in the paint, always ready to destroy the competition. As soon as he landed in the league, it was madness. O’Neal was a force to be reckoned with, causing terror in almost every rival he had to face.
Shaq’s style of play was really electrifying, which earned him a lot of recognition and a quick ascend to stardom. However, not everybody was a fan of that, especially his peers. Back in 1994, a young Shaq was criticized by Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson, who voiced their opinion on O’Neal’s personality on the court.
The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs legends were critical, saying that they were different from Shaq, who was more concerned about doing plays for the show than winning matches.
“He likes the attention, he likes to play the media game. That’s great,” Robinson stated.
“I agree with David. He’s supposed to be fun. We’re here to win,” Olajuwon added.
Shaquille O’Neal Dominates Against Hakeem Olajuwon And David Robinson After Being Bullied By Them
Even though Shaq was young in 1994, the player wasn’t shy, and whenever somebody went after him, he was ready to reply. He was asked about the animosity some of his peers had for him, and his response was short but clear.
“I’m coming to get you guys today. Watch out,” he firmly said.
OldSkoolBBall shared the video where O’Neal takes things personally and dunks on both Olajuwon. First, he goes against Olajuwon in an All-Star Game, putting him on a poster while Patrick Ewing saw it very closely.
In another edition of the game, Shaq finally met Robinson in the paint and made him pay for his prior comments.
As he’s stated before, Shaq was ready to go after the people who doubted him, fueling his competitiveness and will to win with every bad thing said or done to him. That’s how he dropped 61 on the Clippers and won three NBA championships in a row.
He had several duels with Hakeem and Robinson, losing in the Finals against The Dream, which helped him vow he’d would never lose a championship series again.
