There’s no player in the NBA that doesn’t wish they were as dominant as Shaquille O’Neal was in his prime. Shaq was a beast at his best, no players even came close to slowing him down. His game in the paint was incredible, the Big Diesel made use of his amazing size and strength to bully defenders and destroy rims, Shaq was taught at an early age that he needed to dunk as much and as often as possible.
But that’s not the only way to dominate a basketball game, plenty of the greatest were never blessed with the natural gifts that O’Neal had at his disposal. And players like Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki became legends by adding some incredible shooting skills to their bags, having the ability to pull up from various spots on the court.
There is a popular saying around the world, ‘the grass is always greener on the other side,’ and this is true in some way for NBA players as well. Even the most elite athletes covet the skill that is not at their disposal, and it would seem even Shaquille O’Neal felt like that at one point.
Shaquille O’Neal Wanted His Game To Be More Like Kevin Garnett’s
It’s hard to imagine Shaquille O’Neal wanted to be like anyone else, but Superman himself admitted that there were times he wanted to play a bit differently. Speaking on the Players Tribune podcast, Shaq chose Kevin Garnett as an example of someone whose game he wouldn’t mind emulating.
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“Believe it or not, I wanted to be Garnett. I got all that, I wanted to fade up, shoot threes, all that. But when I’m playing Patrick Ewing I go like this, I’d be like, ‘Oh, we have something here’… Look, I wanted to fade away and cross people up. That was my niche, just to beat people up. And again, I wasn’t trying to be the best, I was just trying to win.”
It’s a good thing that Shaq was able to be himself, for the most part, his legendary status is based on being able to do what he did like no one else could. It would have been unfair if Shaq was also able to regularly pull up for shots and hit free throws, he might have become the GOAT if that were to be the case. It’s good to see that even one of the greatest ever also envies how others do it from time to time.
