Former Los Angeles Lakers centre Shaquille O’Neal joined the 75th NBA anniversary team. It was an honorary position given to him by the league on Sunday. Shaquille O’Neal attended the All-Star game in Cleveland and joined a host of current and former NBA greats starting from LeBron James, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and many others.
During the 75th NBA Anniversary ceremony, Shaq made an emotional speech. The Big Diesel honoured Hakeem Olajuwon who also made it to the 75th NBA team. Shaquille O’Neal was known for his powerful gameplay as many consider him revolutionizing the centre role in the sport. He was one of the most dominant players in the NBA ever as he bossed around several centres with sheer muscle power.
Shaq in his four minute speech highlighted how he was not as good as Houston Rockets centre Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon who spent the majority of his career at Houston won two Championships with the franchise and was nicknamed ‘The Dream’ for his exceptional abilities on the court.
Shaq arrived at the NBA on TNT on the All-Star night. During the show, he gave an emotional speech where he gave a tribute to former Houston Rockets centre Hakeem Olajuwon. He admitted that the Rockets star was a way better centre than he ever was.
“It was a very emotional moment for me. Because the guys that are greater than me,” Shaq said.
“I can’t believe that I’m sitting next to him. You wanna look at myself play? I was not as good as Hakeem. I wasn’t even as good as Chief.”
Hakeem Olajuwon was picked as the first overall pick by the Houston Rockets in the 1984 draft ahead of the Michael Jordan. The big center played for 17 seasons for the Houston Rockets and became a household name for them in this time. He won the championship twice for the Rockets and played a big role in both titles. He also won the Finals MVP in both of the championship-winning seasons. Olajuwon was a dominant center. So Shaquille O’Neal’s statements are not surprising at all.
Shaquille O’Neal joined the NBA eight years later than Hakeem Olajuwon during The Dream’s twilight years. He then bagged the three-peat for the Lakers of NBA Championships alongside Kobe Bryant.
The NBA All Star game ended with Team Lebron winning the match the special match by 163-160 scoreline against Team Durant. Whereas Stephen Curry won the All Star MVP for dropping 50 points in the special fixture.
