Shaquille O’Neal says he just wasn’t himself last season – NBA Update
Recently retired basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal has spoken about his last year as an NBA player and says he just wasn’t himself. Shaquille played in the league for 19 years and for the most part, he was an unparalleled dominator in the paint. However, age and injuries caught up with him towards the end.
Shaquille was part of a Boston Celtics roster last season that fell to the Big Three of the Miami Heat in the playoffs. The likes of Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade proved too much in the end for the aging Boston Celtics squad.
However at 39 years of age, Shaq was a senior even among a roster of veterans like Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. The Diesel couldn’t be his dominating self during his time with the Celtics and failed to provide a meaningful contribution at either end of the court, especially during the NBA playoffs.
He also faced time out with injuries and Shaq revealed in an interview that it just didn’t feel right anymore. He is used to being a winner, a competitor and once he wasn’t able to be one he found it very frustrating. Talking in an exclusive interview to during an interview with Times-Picayune sports writer John Reid., he said.
“At 39, I wasn’t mentally on the down slope. But I used to feel really terrible after scoring eight points. This ain’t me, the Diesel scoring eight points. My mind was on winning the whole thing, and we had a chance to get the second spot (in the Eastern Conference), and we ended up getting the fourth spot.”
A contentious issue last season with the Boston Celtics was the trade of centre Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City Thunder. The Celtics got Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic in return, but the team lost its momentum and balance. Most Boston players were opposed to the trade but the management went ahead because they believed Jermaine O’Neal and Shaq would be able to plug the gap left by Perkins.
Shaq has now revealed that he told the Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge not to do the deal himself. He made it clear that he wasn’t up to the task because of his age and creaking body, but the trade went through anyway.
“I even told (Boston General Manager) Danny Ainge not to do the Kendrick Perkins deal with Oklahoma City. I told them I might not be ready, and I’m definitely not coming back. Those guys did what they’ve got to do. I wasn’t surprised; I’ve seen it before. They say all that blah, blah, but you know it’s always going to be something different.”
Shaquille himself was a popular figure inside the Celtics locker room and the players stood by him during the turmoil.
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