Shaquille O'Neal Says He 'Only Played 30 Percent of My Real Game' Scott Halleran/Getty Images 68.4K Reads 85 Comments Shaquille O'Neal retired as one of the most dominant big men in NBA history. Yet he believes he could have reached even loftier heights. In an interview with Shams Charania of The Vertical, the legendary center spoke about not utilizing his full skill set while imposing his will in the paint: I only played 30 percent of my real game. I had a great career, but Ididn't get a chance to showcase what I can really do. That's because the double- and triple-teams were coming so quick, I had to dominate, dominate, dominate inside. I had the ability to step out, go around defenders, dribble by people, but I never got to show that. I had to focus on being the most powerful, dominant player to ever play the game. His style is less common in a quicker, more athletic league where most big men are expected to run and stretch the court. O'Neal seems to believe he could have embraced such a role if needed. The Big Aristotle also lamented all the time spent on the shelf during his decorated 19-year career. You know, my only regret is that I missed almost 200 games due to injury while I was averaging 25 points a game. That's another 5,000 points that I left on the table. It would have put me No. 2 in scoring and further up in stats. I had a lot of freak injuries – had knee surgeries, toe injuries and my hand broken twice from hard fouls. You miss near 200 games, averaging 25 points, that's 5,000 points right there to add. That hurts me. Recently passed by Dirk Nowitzki, O'Neal ranks seventh on the all-time scoring leaderboard. Aside from Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain, the others above him logged at least 100 more games. Still, it's unreasonable to expect a 7-footer, or any athlete for that matter, to play in three decades without any injury setbacks. The missed time also preserved him enough to play on four championship winners. It's natural for O'Neal to look back and wonder if he could have accomplished more, but he's still a Hall of Famer and an all-time great. [Shams Carania]
Commenting separately. Kobe once done: "I gave everything I had to the game, no regrets" Shaq once done: "I could have been better" Surprised I am not.
...did not focus on getting in shape and was also a liability most of the time at the charity stripe. Inspite of all that, O'Neal was the most nimble big I ever saw. 30% is just hyperbole [rolls eyes].
The fact that he only played "30% of his game" is why he's one of the most dominant players ever. If he was a jumpshooter he would not have been as dominant. The ability to go inside and kill it is what made him dominant.
I love Shaq as a player, but he needs to realise bbq chicken big man points is why he was dominant. Intagibles like not training hard or somehow making the ft's climb to a seventy or eighty percent average is a part of him as a player. You can't count injury times at your season average. As my father said if the dog wouldn't have stopped to crap he would have caught the rabbit. I feel Shaq is really thinking aloud rather than seriously suggesting anything here though. This is the attitude that must have driven Kobe crazy. In other words Shaq is saying if he would have had a mamba mentality he would be the greatest ever.
his foot injuries were born of girth, begat by poor eating and conditioning habits. and i think LOTS of bigs can put on one-on-none dribbling displays. hell, dwight howard was recently seen draining threes. if they actually try it in a real game, they might develop greater respect for the skill level of the smaller guys who make in the league. they're freaking wizards. but i'm guessing cole aldrich can probably execute a shammgod or two at the local Y. doesn't mean he's not "showcasing his true game" on the nba floor, though.
I think 30% is ridiculous exaggeration, but I have no doubt he didn't show his full game. Shaq was incredibly skilled, not just physically dominant. He did have handles, he did have fancy post moves. The ft shooting, I have to believe was a lot in his head too, because the guy could catch the ball 15-18 feet from the hoop, turn slightly immediately and and shoot crazy thrown in hooks and make them. If you can shoot that shot from that distance with a guy on your back, rushing it so that the 2nd defender can't catch up and help, then fts should be no problem. Later in his career he started to miss gimmes right at the hoop though, and I do believe that was him relying on his previous talent instead of working on keeping his game sharp, so that is on him.
Please, Shaq was what he was. Thats what he amounted to and that's good enough to be one of the best players ever. His claims are ridiculous.
O'Neal is a character... He said he shouldn't have left Orlando. He shouldn't have put on extra muscle just because he didn't want the Longleys to push him around. He should have manned up to Hardaway. He's the GM during his Laker days. Staples was the house Shaq built. Dogs guarding porches. This...that...so on and so forth. I am just thankful that he played with our beloved franchise. Well...that West guy had something to do with it. Three rings to the collection. #34 is up in our rafters and he IS Superman not that impostor currently residing in Atlanta. O'Neal has stated he will go in as a Laker since he did his most damage as one. He was a freak...a force of nature on the hardwood...did stuff no other pivot-man has ever done or can ever do. Now...if he did play above 30% like an extra 15% or more, O'Neal would also have had a rebounding title in his resume.
And that, Shaq, is precisely why most sensible fans chose Kobe over you back then. But, I always felt that Kobe's work ethics have been over-simplified by the pundits. Many of them reduced it to repetition. Many players do repetitions. Shoot 2000 jumpers a day (or whatever the number is). That is not enough. Kobe was a perfect combination of repetition, attention to details, respect to the craft and willingness to ask questions and learn. Think about it. He, already a lock for HoF, went to Hakeem to learn from him. I don't recall anyone else doing such a thing before him.
Sure, 70% of his real game was taking guys off the dribble, running around screens looking for his spots. He put all that aside for Kobe and what did he get in return?
Well to be fair, Dwight Howard did that too. He was already a "winner" in his own mind and still went to Hakeem looking to improve further. Before deciding it was too much work.
I mean obviously he's wrong with the percentage, but I'm with @Weezy that in today's NBA Shaq might look even more frightening. For his ridiculous size he actually had a decent handle. His footwork was always underestimated because of the strength he showed. I don't believe for a minute he would ever be a pick and pop candidate or anything like that, but in today's fast paced game Shaq would certainly be able to do some awesome things in transition. I know most people say LeBron is the greatest athlete we've ever seen, but I disagree. I think Shaq is by far the greatest athlete I've witnessed. At taller than 7 feet he still had quickness, speed, and leaping ability like a man a foot shorter than him. I've never seen a person move the way Shaq did. Ultimately that became his downfall too as he relied more and more on that natural ability and never properly honed his skills. Maybe the 30% he's talking about is the fact that he wasn't as dedicated to his craft as he should have been. Maybe that 30% is him admitting he should have worked harder on his free throw shooting and his jump shot and whatever else you want to say he lacked. Either way, he was the most dominant basketball player that has ever lived in his short stretch on top of the world. I truly believe he'd have dominated in any era ever and at his peak was utterly unstoppable. Kareem is the only Center I place above Shaq and it's because Kareem had longevity and conditioning that Shaq just didn't have the discipline for, but at both of their peaks I think Shaq is still the better player. He was just too big, too strong, and too aggressive.
I watched, Shaq: The Big Interview, last night with Ernie Johnson that aired on NBATV and it was a great interview! Shaq talked about a lot of things, stories, and surprisingly about his real father. I loved how Shaq plans to leave a seat open near the front during the Hall of Fame Ceremonies this Friday for his late Step-Father Sarge, who he considers his real father. Shaq didn't have enough great things to say about him.
More like, 30% fat, amirite? All jokes aside, he could've certainly been better. But he wasn't, and that other 70% went to waste because he didn't have the work ethic or drive to do so. He just relied on how far he got and never worked on getting better. He could have been the best player even had he had Kobe's work ethic, but nah.
Did you ever see Kareem in his prime? He was smarter, more skilled, a better passer, a better defender, a better rebounder, a better shot blocker, and a faaaaaaar better shooter and free throw shooter than Shaq in his prime. Shaq of course had far more raw power, was better at getting and holding his spot on the block and was a better dribbler.
