Shaquille O’Neal tells LeBron James what Michael Jordan told him – NBA Special Report
Shaquille O' Neal aka the Big Shaq has struck again.
He was speaking at his massive retirement party at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas and when asked if he had something to say that could help LeBron James through his period of strife Shaq replied in the negative.
However “The Diesel” did drop a one liner he picked up from arguably the greatest player to ever set foot on a basketball court, Michael Jordan,
“Experience is the best teacher,” he said, adding, “Michael (Jordan) told me ‘You must fall before you can stand.’ ”
That is a philosophy known only too well to Shaquille O’Neal and of course to Michael Jordan. When Jordan started out the league was dominated by the Larry Bird led Boston Celtics and the Magic Johnson led Los Angeles Lakers.
There was also the matter of the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons, who defeated Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the playoffs three years in a row before Michael swept them on his way to the first of six NBA World Championships.
Every great player struggles and now its LeBron’s turn.
Shaquille O’Neal played with LeBron James for a year in the Cleveland Cavaliers side that lost out to the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. Shaq had gone to the Cavaliers that season and declared that he was there to “win a ring
for the king”, a reference to LeBron’s nick name “King James”.
However, when the LeBron and the Cavs lost to Boston in the playoffs, the project at Cleveland fell apart. LeBron left the team under uneasy circumstances, citing his desire to win an NBA World Championship as the main reason.
LeBron joined the Miami Heat and formed the Big Three which consisted of himself, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Heat looked strong in the post season and cruised past teams such as the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls, who had
MVP Derrick Rose on their team. However, the Heat fell on the last hurdle when they lost in the NBA Finals to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.
Since then LeBron has faced the harshest criticism from analysts around the world for his no-show at the Finals. The Heat bashers have also out in force to gloat to LeBron about leaving Cleveland and still falling short.
Shaquille O’Neal also needed to leave his first team, the Orlando Magic and join the Los Angeles Lakers to get NBA World Championship he so craved. Even then he had to wait a few years as Kobe Bryant matured into a player that
could help him reach that goal.
The diesel has delivered the words of wisdom and now is to be seen whether LeBron James learns his lessons from the adversity he currently faces and comes out better for it.
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