"Before you succeed, you must first learn to fail" - Shaquille O’Neal reveals Michael Jordan's advice to him, recalls ripping urinals and "s**t flying everywhere" before being calmed by Jerry West
Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is known for his fun and outgoing personality. He won the hearts of millions of fans during his long career. However, even Shaq had to overcome many challenges in his early days. On the PBD Podcast, O’Neal spoke about how difficult it was to maintain focus after constantly being swept in the playoffs early in his career.
Shaquille O’Neal also shared the advice he got from Michael Jordan and Jerry West on how to deal with failure.
“So we used to get swept all the time and most of the blowback came on me, which I was fine with it, but just you know, at some point I got tired of hearing it because Michael Jordan told me after they swept us, ‘before you succeed, you must first learn to fail.’ And I just got tired of failing.
Shaq continued:
“So one time we got swept by the Spurs and I went in the bathroom and I ripped up all the toilets, all the urinals. There was shit flying everywhere… and Jerry West came in there and he grabbed me and he was strong as hell too and he put me up against the wall and said 'calm down'. I'm like 'I'm tired of losing.'"
It was quite a surprise for Shaquille O’Neal to learn about West's journey in his playing days.
West's LA Lakers made the NBA Finals nine times between 1962 and 1973. He finished his career with a 1-8 record which is the worst in finals in NBA history.
In the modern game, everyone expects instant results and sometimes it takes a reality check to put things into perspective. Shaquille O’Neal obviously felt a ton of pressure to win a title and was tired of losing to the same teams each year.
However, he was still young and had plenty of room to improve. After receiving this advice from West, O’Neal won four NBA championships and finished his career with an NBA Finals record of 4-2.
“One word, ‘resume’… how could you not listen to the great Jerry West?” – Shaquille O’Neal on what makes Jerry West a great recruiter
West is one of the top talent recruiters in the NBA. He is currently working for the LA Clippers. He also played a key role in luring Shaquille O’Neal from the Orlando Magic to the LA Lakers in 1996. In the same interview, O’Neal was also asked what makes West a great recruiter. He responded by saying:
"One word, 'resume', how can you not listen to the great Jerry West".
Shaquille O’Neal went on to talk about how flattering it was to have someone like West want him to join his team. After signing for the Lakers, he recalled his conversation with West, who told him:
"Mr. O'Neal, one day you can be up there with the legends".
West laid out his plan for O’Neal to play alongside newly acquired rookie Kobe Bryant. He told him how the two of them would lead the Lakers to multiple titles. West also told him that one day he could have his jersey retired with the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
It’s clear that Jerry West’s confidence in Shaquille O’Neal ended up being a huge factor in him signing for the Lakers. O'Neal won three championships with the Lakers and his No. 34 jersey has been retired.