23-time gold medalist Michael Phelps reveals working out with Shaquille O'Neal makes him believe NBA players ‘could get good’ at swimming overtime
Over the years, Shaquille O'Neal has rubbed shoulders with many great atheltes. His encounter with one famous Olympian completely changed his thoughts on basketball players.
During a recent interview, Michael Phelps was asked about his thoughts on swimming and basketball. Both sports require a lot of endurance, but at much different levels. Phelps was then asked what NBA player he thinks will be able to transition to the sport of swimming easily.
Phelps didn't make a clear choice, but did provide some insight. After getting to work with Shaquille O'Neal in the past, he feels basketball players could become good at swimming if they applied themselves.
"I watch Shaq come a long way after working with him for one week when we did Shaq versus and it makes me believe that their body awareness is there," Phelps said. "I think over time they could get good but I don't know how good it could be."
Shaquille O'Neal beat Michael Phelps in a swimming race
Since retiring from the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal has done a lot of different things. One of his many ventures was hosting his own reality show. "Shaq Vs." was a program where he took on other top athletes in their respective sports.
The show aired for two seasons, and had a total of ten episodes. On one occasion, Shaq squred off against Michael Phelps in the pool. Phelps was fresh off making history at the 2008 Olympics and was one of the premiere athletes in the world at the time.
In this scenario, Phelps raced the LA Lakers legend with some handicaps. For starters, he had to swim 50 yards while Shaq only had to do 25. To make things slightly fair, Phelps was given a five second head start.
Even though Phelps had to swim the longer distance, many probably still expected him to win. However, in a shocking turn of events, Shaq managed to come away with the win.
Phelps got really close to catching up to Shaq at the end, but the Hall of Fame center managed to squeak out the victory.
The episode ended with the two having a winner-take-all race. Phelps swam 75 meters, but Shaq only had to 50. This time around, the Olympian managed to secure the victory.
Shaq held his own, but in the end Phelps managed to beat him by less than one second. For his punishment, the former MVP had to partake in a syncronized swimming class.