The Los Angeles Lakers have had several outstanding players over the years. They have won 17 championships, making them one of the NBA’s most successful franchises. Their achievement has been aided by several greats. To name a few, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant all contributed to the success of the Lakers.
In 1996, Shaquille O’Neal signed with the Lakers. Shaq anticipated being a part of the Lakers fraternity when he signed with the illustrious organization. He believed that greats like Magic, Kareem, and others would aid and direct him.
He didn’t get any counsel from any of them, though. Instead, O’Neal received criticism from the legends and had to devise a strategy on his own to triumph. Shaq succeeded in doing so in the end, guiding the Lakers to a three-peat from 2000 to 2002.
Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan’s teammate, sells out the NFT in 77 seconds despite the floor price nearly doubling to $430.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shares Why He Never Helped Shaquille O’neal
Shaq believed he would receive assistance when he signed with the Lakers. However, other Lakers greats were wary of overstepping their bounds and giving unsolicited advice. Similar circumstances applied to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He once explained why Shaq didn’t get any assistance from him in a conversation with Mark Medina.
Since I believed Shaq was already rather successful at dunking everything, I never approached him as a professional since I believed he didn’t need my assistance. In addition, I never served as a member of his team’s coaching staff. Shaq was enjoying his success and going about things his way, but I never had a bad attitude toward him and I would chat with him. He never sought my opinion on what he should be doing or made any attempt to get in touch with me for advice, and I respected his choice.
I would have been thrilled to work with Shaq if I had known that he was interested in learning from me, but every hint I had was that he thought he was doing okay and didn’t need or want my assistance.
It’s very upsetting to hear this. Because neither Shaq nor Kareem took the initiative, a lovely connection was not able to develop.
Larry Bird was demonstrating to me that it was all business at this point: Michael Jordan described how Larry Legend taught him where he belonged during his first season.
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What Did Shaq Say About Kareem?
O’Neal has made comments over the years about how he didn’t get any assistance from Lakers superstars. Kareem did, however, describe what transpired. However, Shaq’s book, which he had penned, was released just before Kareem’s interview.
By having Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Bill Walton appear in a Reebok commercial and assuring that they received “a great paycheck,” O’Neal claimed he was trying to gain the respect of many elite centers. But O’Neal refrained from bringing up the subject with Abdul-Jabbar since, in his opinion, the latter was only really interested in chit-chatting with him.
ensuring they receive a great salary? The players Shaq had identified were the All-Time Greats of the game when he was a rookie. He indeed made a lot of money throughout his career, but stating it in this manner came off as a bit haughty.
