Top 10 Players of the 2000's: #4 Shaquille O'Neal

Shaq: The Big Diesel

To the modern day pragmatics, the sport of basketball is just not confined to the 94ft by 50ft wooden courts, or by the basket hanging about 10 feet above. It is just not about players using their speed, agility, guile and strength to navigate their way to the ring, or use their imperious shooting ability to hit from beyond the paint. It is also about fostering personalities in players, perceiving and cherishing their identities, accepting and eulogizing them for who they are and idolizing them for the same and beyond.

In short, if I were to sum up the demands of a modern day basketball god, one would need to dominate the courts the same way Wilt Chamberlain did, as well as have the aptitude and the ability to entertain and market the way Magic Johnson did. Actually, Magic dominated both on and off the court, so in a way, he is the epitome of what it is like to be a basketball superstar. Yes, Michael Jordan was there too, and maybe for all his play-off exploits and clutch moments, he was a greater player. But I don’t intend to start up a debate about who was the greater player and who was the better superstar. There are better and bigger savants who can while away in such exploits. I would just like to put these things into perspective, because such qualities and demands somehow define both the rise and fall of the player who made it to the No. 4 spot on our list: Shaquille O’Neal.

Now, even before Shaq came into the league, he was touted by many and hyped up to being the next great big-man. His timing into the league couldn’t have been better, as it was truly the time of the centers, with the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and David Robinson dominating the league. Michael was busy chasing his fancies, and for once, the victims saw hope and a possible vindication. The league had lost its biggest star, and with the new kid entering the league, the hopes and demands were pretty high.

But the new kid had his eyes set on stardom even before the savants bothered to expect it from him. A No. 1 draft pick, he had a successful collegiate basketball career behind him and carried a belief and confidence that defied commonality. There was a rhythmic tune to his name and an utter fearlessness to his game. Combine that with his signature penchant for nicknames, some self-eulogizing while being unusually sibylline, and you have the makings of a real superstar.

“The Big Aristotle and Hobo Master”,”Shaq”, “The Diesel”, “Shaq Fu”, “The Big Daddy”, “Superman”, “The Big Agave”, “The Big Cactus”, “The Big Shaqtus”, “The Big Galactus”, “Wilt Chamberneezy”, “The Big Baryshnikov”, “The Real Deal”, “The Big Shamrock”, “The Big Leprechaun”, “Shaqovic”, “The Big Conductor”. These assortments may imply nothing, but Shaq adopted them with much grace and aplomb.

If Shaq was dominating the media and the press reports off the court, his on-court persona was in no way a lesser phenomenon. Not since the time of Wilt Chamberlain had the league come across a physical phenomenon as indomitable as Shaq. He didn’t have the post moves of a Hakeem or the sky-hook of a Kareem. He was more than happy backing down opponents and throwing down the most outrageous dunks. Many a ring shimmered and tethered, while a few gave away to his herculean dunks. In a parallel universe, somebody would have surely thought of making dunking illegal, and maybe in some you would have had scientists working on improving the ‘impact strength’ of them.

However, in our world, we were more than happy enjoying the decimation, a virtuoso demolition and humbling of 7-footers who tethered in front of the Big Diesel. Yes, he famously said, “I want to be strong, dominant; like Wilt Chamberlain”. In many ways, Wilt was a better player; he had a far more complete offensive repertoire and could hurt you in far many more ways. Shaq was a fairly direct player in comparison. And other than his dismal free-throw shooting, he didn’t exactly have much in common, in terms of offensive ability.

Let aside the Wilt Chamberlain comparisons, Shaq posted numbers that were hypnagogic to say the least. The first MVP of the last decade, a 15-time All-Star and a 4-time world champion as well as 3 Finals MVP. He, along with Willis Reed and Michael Jordan, belong to the unique group of players who managed to win the All-Star MVP, the NBA MVP and the Finals MVP in the same year. Greatness indeed, but Shaquille O’Neal could have been greater. He could have done better than his 4 rings; he could have gotten more rebounds, and for someone who stands 7’1, led the league in rebounds and blocked shots at least once in his career. And it is here that the dichotomy of his legacy comes to the fore.

Now, Shaquille had been touted to be a lot of things, but by the start of the last decade, he had turned out to be one among the countless stories of superstars who promised much, but failed to get the job done. Jordan may have stolen some years off of him, but be it in his time with Orlando or his nascent years with the Lakers, Shaq filled up the stat-sheet and still had no trophies and banners to show. His double-doubles didn’t add up to rings, and the Jerry West master plan with him and Kobe as its centrepiece hadn’t worked out well enough. West had envisaged a dominant duo like Wilt and he had been in their times. But with the enigmatic and insolent competitive streaks of both players subduing the chances of a partnership brewing, the scene looked very grim indeed.

Three-peat: Shaq and Kobe.

It was at this time that the Lakers would bring in the legendary Phil Jackson at the helm, and suddenly things started to work out. Phil was the greatest perpetrator of the triangle offense, and with it centred on the big man and based on half-court sets, Shaq and the Lakers prospered. Phil had finally met a suitor to his offensive philosophy, and believed that Shaq and his version of the triangle would re-define the flow of offense in the league. They did succeed, winning three titles to start the decade. Shaq, 28 then, was at the prime of his prowess, and under the guidance of Phil, he was transgressing all set domains of basketball immortality.

However, much of Shaq’s dominance was also a result of the prominence of Kobe. Shaq may have been the alpha-dog in the team all the while, but he was aware that Kobe was fast developing into one of the better guards in the league and the friction between the two had begun to reach melting point. Kobe believed that Shaq didn’t work hard enough in training, and that he didn’t do enough to grow as a basketball player. Shaq, on the other hand, was only too happy to believe that he dominated the courts as it was, and there was no need for him to put in the intensity in training. Arguments and many such altercations followed as the relationship got tumultuous. When the Lakers failed to make it big for two seasons in a row, the call for changes was in order.

Shaq was 33 then, and for a veteran player, he demanded a big contract. He refused to let Kobe have the major part of the limelight, and was convinced that the only way was for him to still be the alpha-dog. Kobe was too good to accept that, and West saw him as the face of the franchise. First Phil Jackson, and then Shaq, were forced to leave the Lakers. Shaq would move on to a new challenge at Miami. At that time, taking one’s talents to the South Beach wasn’t a taboo still, and with a young and promising player in Dwayne Wade, Shaq was expected to keep up his stats and numbers as well live happily ever after as the alpha-dog. His treatment for his  side-kicks hadn’t been admirable to say the least, as proved by his alteration with Bryant and Penny Hardaway.

Taking his talents to South Beach with Wade.

But, it was in this season that Shaq would behave so differently that it was a stark anomaly to the player that the league had become accustomed to. He came to camp 30 pounds lighter, was ready to sweat it out in the gym, and more than happy to project and promote Wade. He nicknamed him Flash, and was actually ready to take the role of a side-kick for the first time. The same player who dismissed a 17-year old rookie in Bryant, stating that he had no intention to babysit. He wasn’t ready to yield an inch, let aside support Kobe, but for Wade, he was the smarter and wiser big brother. Wade led the Heat to a NBA Championship, and Shaq was only too happy winning his rings, rather than being the one leading the team.

He didn’t want to be the alpha-dog any more, much happy in trying to coronate the twilight of his career with as much spangle as he could manage. A legacy of dominance was a thing of the past, as he was more than competent in jumping bandwagons. The man who couldn’t accept a belligerent guard shooting the ball more than he did was more than competent joining the Cavaliers with a motto to help ‘The King win a Ring’. When he failed in that attempt, he would change camps again, and join the big four of the Celtics to form a galactic congregation. In all, he was focussed on winning rings and was ready to give up the limelight. He had stamped his reputation as one of the greatest centers of all time, and maybe it was time for him to just glisten up his resume with some rings. After all, that is what the hierarchy driven pundits believe and set as the bar to christen legacies.

With the King in Cleveland.

And it is here that the sudden change in mentality seems dicey. Olajuwon, Chamberlain and the likes of Jordan would have never settled for such antics. They were players who knew better than to show up at an All-Star game with a jig. They were dominant not because they had the size but also because they played with the heart of a champion. Phil Jackson believed that Shaq had enough titles to win at least 10 MVP titles, so much so that he envisaged that by the time Shaq retired, the MVP trophy would have to be named after him. He was his ideal pupil, the man who showed the effectiveness and perspicacity of his mode of offense. Alas, the pupil never fulfilled his master’s prophecy. Not because he couldn’t, but because he just wasn’t the player who would push beyond the highest bar set. He was happy being the best, and that is about it.

“Me having a beautiful wife and great family and friends around me, all the money I’ve got, all the things that I’ve got, a Ferrari that I just ripped the top off of and turned into a convertible, the rings I got, the two mansions on the water, a master’s in criminal justice, I’m a cop, plus I look good. So to me, shooting 40 % at the foul line is just God’s way of saying that nobody’s perfect. If I shot 90 % from the line, it just wouldn’t be right.”

And this is how Shaq ended his career, amongst the all-time leaders in almost every category that one values from a league’s big man. He is rated amongst the greatest centers of all-time, but for me, he will go out as a player who could be as special, if not better than Wilt. If only he had bothered enough. He was great, but we all know he could have been greater.

And that is why the Big Diesel is No. 4 on our list of the greatest players of the last decade.