Shaquille O'Neal, the most dominant bigman ever, spills when he scaled 7 feet
Shaquille O'Neal is one of the most dominant big men in NBA history. Throughout his career, the Hall of Fame big man used his unique size and strength to overpower the opposition and dominate the paint on both sides of the floor.
During a recent episode of the 'PBD Podcast,' Shaquille O'Neal was asked about his incredible height and how old he was when he finally cracked the seven-foot mark. Shockingly, Shaquille O'Neal noted he was still a young teenager by the time he grew into a seven-footer.
"I became a seven-footer at 14," O'Neal said. "Sophomore year in high school. Crazy. Sophomore year in high school. Still didn't make the team. Had size 18 shoes, had Monday, Wednesday, and Friday jeans, had different shirts. Got bullied a lot. Then I had to get tough, and I turned into a bully, and I started playing basketball."
O'Neal then continued by crediting his father for pushing him to become better at the game of basketball.
"And my father just kept pushing me, pushing me, pushing me. And then this was around 1983, 1984 when the no pass, no play rule came out. So I tried to test my father's theory. One time it didn't pass, and he wouldn't let me play. That devastated me. So I really started focusing on academics then."
Given the NBA success that Shaquille O'Neal has enjoyed, it's fair to say that his father did a great job in preparing him. It probably greatly helped him to reach the levels of all-time NBA greats.
Dwyane Wade was excited to play with Shaquille O'Neal
Such was Shaquille O'Neal's dominance that even NBA All-Stars found themselves in awe of playing against him. However, during a recent interview, Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade noted how he was excited to have the opportunity of sharing the court with Shaquille O'Neal as his teammate.
"I was like no way. I was like to me it's a joke like Shaquille O'Neal's not about to get traded from the Lakers, it's not happening like this is. Shaquille O'Neill, this is one of the best players of all time. Like there's no way it's happening. So I kind of just brushed it off."
Wade continued:
"Is this real? and I remember when I felt it was real when I walked on the ESPYs red carpet and before they announced me, they said Shaquille O'Neal's new teammate Dwyane Wade and everybody was aahhhh. I was like oh my God, I am Shaquille O'Neal's teammate like it was crazy."
Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal won an NBA championship together during the 2005-06 season - the same year that Wade was voted as the NBA Finals MVP.