Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are two of the greatest centers to play in the history of the NBA.
But the two legends of the sport have had a shaky relationship over the years. Keeping that in mind, Shaq recently revealed how his beef started with Kareem in a one-on-one interview with the 76-year-old himself.
“I owe you an apology,” Shaq said. “I think it was four years ago. We were walking down the hall at the final four. I thought you didn’t like me, but you explained to me the story on how that all unfolded when you came to work with me at LSU, and then my father had made some crazy comments.”
Kareem replied: “Yeah, your father said that, ‘Forget that hook shot, you just dunk everything.’ I couldn’t teach you if you’re gonna do that or take that approach. So I was frustrated because I wanted a closer relationship with you.”
(Starts at 4:15)
It seems like it was nothing but a misunderstanding between the two players. Shaquille O’Neal wanted to have a good relationship with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and vice versa.
But due to O’Neal’s father giving him advice on focusing on becoming a one-dimensional dominant player, Kareem became frustrated.
Shaquille O’Neal Says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Ignoring Him Was The Best Thing That Happened
Shaquille O’Neal is considered as the most dominant basketball player ever by most fans. But at the same time, O’Neal is a sensitive guy.
Kareem not talking to him may have hurt him in the shorter run, but ultimately it benefited him in having a great career. Shaq spoke about it when Kareem crowned LeBron James as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader.
“Listen, you not speaking to me was the best thing that happened to my career because all I ever wanted to do was impress you, sir. I will talk to you soon, inshallah, and I love you very much. I will never ever have beef with the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You ain’t got to worry about that.”
https://twitter.com/_Talkin_NBA/status/1623200719246442496
It’s good to know that the two legends of the sport do not have a bad relationship. If anything, they are closer than ever.
Anyway, as a basketball fan, you should definitely watch the entire interview of Shaq and Kareem. We hope to see more interviews between legends in the future.
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