"Student must kill the master": Shaquille O'Neal names 5 NBA legends he modeled himself after
The dominance of Shaquille O'Neal is well-known by most fans of the NBA. O'Neal was a force inside the paint and would often show no mercy to anyone who stood in front of him. But behind every great player lies a group of role models who helped him become great.
Coming into the league, O'Neal was already at the top of his game. He stormed in and was named an All-Star in his rookie season. The 7-foot-1 center led the team in scoring and rebounding and never lifted his foot off the pedal.
His dominance was overwhelming and has not been matched by anyone since then. On his show, "The Big Podcast with Shaq", he recently shared five iconic names in the NBA that inspired him to become a force in the league:
"I copied everybody," Shaq said as he explained watching karate movies helped him learn how to be dominant.
"The premise is, the student must kill the master to become the master... And that was my whole game. Patrick Ewing, Hakeem [Olajuwon], David Robinson, Michael Jordan, the way he played the game and Magic Johnson's smile.
"I copied them to a tee, because I wanna be them."
It ended up being a recipe for success for the LA Lakers legend. Shaq used what he learned to great effect, finishing his career as a four-time champion, 15-time All-Star and league MVP during the 1999-00 season. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Also Read: “Horace Grant, Big Shot Bob”: Shaquille O’Neal draws legendary parallels for Kristaps Porzingis’ role on Celtics
Shaquille O'Neal doesn't believe Terry Rozier fits Heat
The Miami Heat recently made a major trade when they traded away veteran point guard Kyle Lowry to the Charlotte Hornets for Terry Rozier. While many are looking positively at the situation, Shaquille O'Neal doesn't think that Rozier fits the system that the Heat has:
"It looks to me to be like a player that does what he wants to do when he wants to do it, and I don’t think Heat culture allows that. They have a system. They have hierarchy," Shaq said.
O'Neal went on to criticize the shot choices that Rozier tends to take at games. Rozier is well known for being an elite scorer who isn't afraid to take shots, but the "Big Aristotle" doesn't think that approach will work well for the team.
In his first two games with the Heat, Rozier has already shown signs of struggle. He's averaging eight points, three rebounds and four assists while making 28.6% of his shots from the field. The 6-foot-1 guard is also struggling to make shots from behind the arc, only making 22% from deep.
Also Read: "They're gonna throw it back at your face" - Shaquille O'Neal drops unfiltered advice on opening up to women