Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says he would have helped Shaquille O’ Neal if only he had asked – NBA News
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has moved to clear the air with former Los Angeles Lakers super star centre Shaquille O’Neal.
O’Neal has claimed in his latest book that he never got any help from Kareem in order to develop his game. Shaq said he expected to receive guidance from the legendary Abdul-Jabbar as he was seen as a successor to the big man in
Los Angeles.
Abdul-Jabbar was indeed a Lakers great and is widely considered to be among the best to ever step on the basketball court. After reading Shaq’s comments, Kareem responded on his Facebook page saying that he never knew Shaq wanted
any help.
Abdul-Jabbar opines that if he had known so, he would have been happy to oblige. Indeed, Kareem was always under the impression that O’Neal wanted to do things his own way and his proud demeanour always re-enforced this opinion.
"If I had any idea that Shaq wanted to learn from me, I would have been happy to have worked with him, but all indications that I had received was that he felt he was doing fine and he didn't need or want my help. I am totally
surprised by Shaq's comments as I tried to respect his privacy and never got any indication from anyone that he wanted or needed any input from me with regard to how he played the game.” Kareem said.
The Lakers legend also stated that the Diesel always played a very different style from that of Kareem. Whilst Kareem used his length and finesse to torture opposing NBA teams for around two decades, Shaquille’s game was entirely
the opposite. Superman, as Shaq was affectionately called, was a truly overpowering presence that just forced his way through to the rim with the defenders only able to watch helplessly.
That difference in styles deterred Kareem from giving his insight of the game to Shaquille, and he never had any real opportunity to do anyway because he never coached Shaq.
"As a pro I never approached Shaq because I thought he was pretty successful dunking everything and I assumed he didn't want my help. Additionally, I was never on the coaching staff of any of his teams.”
Shaq did pretty well without Kareem’s help too. The player ended his career with a plethora of awards to his name that included both regular season and NBA Finals MVP. He won a total of 4 NBA World Championships in a career stretched
over 18 years, including 3 consecutive with the Los Angeles Lakers. O’Neal was also named as one of the 50 greatest players in the history of the game and is a sure fire bet to enter the Hall of Fame.
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