- 2 days ago
The big diesel (Outdated episode, doesn't even get to Heat championship)
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IG: aj_mckenzie416
Twitter: AJMckenzie94847
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00:00Down goes Frasier! Down goes Frasier!
00:05United to Amici. Amici powers in.
00:08The fourth win.
00:09The dance of the pellet! The dance of the pellet!
00:16That's a tough move!
00:18Won their sixth NBA championship.
00:21Yes sir, swing!
00:22This is going to be an all-round unbelievable!
00:25I don't believe what I just saw!
00:37Hello, I'm Chris Fowler for SportsCentury.
00:40When he was about seven, Shaquille O'Neal switched superheroes from the Incredible Hulk to Superman
00:46because the S on his new role model's chest matched his own first initial.
00:50In a later life, O'Neal put Superman's logo on the headlights of his Mercedes
00:55and the front door of his Beverly Hills home.
00:57For all his celebrity, the 7-1 Miami Center is still searching for recognition, if not love.
01:03And who better to identify with than the Uber Bench,
01:07who, legend tells us, is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive.
01:12It's a bird! It's a plane!
01:14No wait, it's Shaq Man!
01:19If Shaq had his druthers, he would live life in kind of a giant cartoon diorama.
01:25He would always be the dominant figure.
01:27But there would be other people, and it would be basically a happy life with him in the center of
01:32it.
01:32Shaq Man's in the house!
01:34No more Shaq Man's in the house!
01:36I don't know if being the center of attention is necessarily just about him,
01:41but entertaining everybody else, making everybody else laugh.
01:45He was I, Superman, the son of Jarrell.
01:50One day you give Shaq's sake, I'm not an all-American.
01:53I'm on a team all by myself.
01:54I'm all-world, all-universe.
01:57The world is mine.
01:58This isn't Michael Jordan who polished his own image for the masses
02:01so that he could sell sneakers and soft drinks.
02:04Sometimes he's a little bit profane.
02:06We're not worried about the Sacramento Queen.
02:21And he figured that out.
02:23He just broke out in the middle of the floor and started breakdancing.
02:26You have to understand marketing.
02:28I do everything right.
02:29If you don't believe it, make a highlight tape and look at me.
02:33Show me going through the community.
02:34Show me talking to the little kids.
02:37Show me going through the hood.
02:39Shaq still does stuff for the community.
02:42Good by myself.
02:43I'm a classy individual.
02:44I think it's taken us a while to figure out who Shaq is.
02:48He's definitely come into his own,
02:49but it's been on his terms and the way that he wants to have us view him.
02:53Shaq is in your town.
02:56Who dare to wake me?
02:59Is it hot in here or is it just me?
03:02With a personality as big as his body,
03:05an awesome yet terrifying spectacle all in one,
03:08Shaquille O'Neal relishes his off-court role as the NBA's irrepressible man-child.
03:13But when the referee's whistle blows,
03:16he settles into a warrior's stoicism,
03:18his face impassive, his mind focused.
03:21Although O'Neal believes fiercely in the game's oldest,
03:24most fundamental offensive strategy,
03:26two of his co-stars,
03:28Penny Hardaway and Kobe Bryant,
03:30didn't buy into the big man theory.
03:32Shaq has always felt that the ball should go through him
03:35because he shoots a high percentage
03:37and he gets people in foul trouble.
03:39Penny believed that his game was the ascendant game
03:42and he was the difference maker.
03:43And so you had this clash of two very young players
03:46who both wanted to be the guy.
03:48After we went to the NBA Finals,
03:50Penny really kind of elevated his game
03:52and then people started looking at,
03:54well, maybe this should be Penny's team.
03:56And suddenly Penny was making as much...
03:58First team all-NBA.
04:00Shaq was it.
04:03God dang it.
04:04So more money than Shaq,
04:06it didn't sit well with Shaq.
04:07I think that's when he really started looking westward.
04:12Wherever Shaq goes,
04:13Shaq is going to be the main focus.
04:16And for anyone else to try to exist
04:18on that same level with Shaq
04:20is going to be tough.
04:22When Kobe emerged as a star,
04:25that's when these issues came up
04:26about jealousies, rivalries,
04:28this and that sort of thing.
04:30When everything went through me,
04:32the outcome was good.
04:33If the big dog ain't me,
04:34then the house won't get guarded.
04:36Period.
04:38Shaq had this thing of,
04:39I'm the big brother.
04:40Kobe's the little brother.
04:42He didn't do it to belittle Kobe,
04:44but I think it did.
04:46And Kobe finally said,
04:47hey man, I'm the best player in the league.
04:50Why am I always the little brother?
04:52By the fall of 1999,
04:54the hard feelings had grown to the point
04:56where during a pickup game before practice,
04:59Shaq slapped Kobe.
05:14These had relationships that existed.
05:17There was certainly some things
05:18that Shaquille O'Neal could have done better.
05:20For a guy that has the personality
05:22and charisma and persona that he has,
05:25why would you want to take the backseat
05:27when you have so much to offer?
05:29Beneath the warrior's armor,
05:31some see a streak of personal denial
05:33driven by a need for approval.
05:36Shaq is both the lovable giant
05:37and the painted giant.
05:40He loved to have people like him,
05:42a big guy who gets moody
05:44and gets worried about the way
05:46people think about him.
05:47He's very thin-skinned
05:49and surprisingly insecure.
05:51The slightest little snub,
05:52if he didn't win the MVP
05:53or people weren't giving him
05:55enough benefit of the doubt,
05:56all these things bother him immensely.
05:58He really should have been MVP 2001.
06:02He also wants to be the common guy.
06:05People don't believe I buy a lot of tickets,
06:07but I buy them all the time.
06:08And for a superstar athlete
06:10who lives his life under the microscope,
06:12it's a little bit impossible.
06:13He doesn't want the burden
06:15of being the greatest player of all time.
06:17He doesn't want his life
06:18to be set up on other people's terms.
06:21My father left me in the cold
06:23When a few months old
06:24I thought a child was great to think old
06:26But I guess not
06:27You brought me into this world
06:29But you're not my dad
06:30Mess around with them drugs
06:31Make my moms mad
06:32Shaquille is about nine years old
06:35His mother brings him
06:36into a little small tenement
06:38in Newark
06:38And there sits Joe Toney,
06:41his biological father.
06:43He gives him a story
06:44about how he went to Seton Hall,
06:45played basketball,
06:47got into some trouble.
06:48And Shaquille realizes
06:49how sad and lonely
06:51his biological father is
06:52and he never asks
06:54to see him again.
06:57In 1972,
06:58when Shaquille was
06:58less than a year old,
07:00Joe Toney was sentenced
07:01to federal prison
07:02for check forgery.
07:03When Shaquille was two,
07:05his mother Lucille
07:06married Phillip Harrison
07:07who soon joined the Army.
07:09I was worried about
07:10a drill sergeant.
07:11If my bed wasn't made right
07:12to where you can flip a quarter,
07:13I used to get a
07:14and a weapon for that.
07:15But you know,
07:16it's a mutual respect there.
07:17He knows how far to go
07:18and I know how far to go.
07:20A child psychologist
07:21would have a field day
07:22with some of
07:22Phil Harrison's methods.
07:24One day,
07:25he basically took a ball,
07:27told Shaquille
07:28to keep his hands down
07:29and hit him
07:30right in the face with it.
07:31He said,
07:32if that doesn't hurt you,
07:33nothing will.
07:33He believed
07:34he was saving Shaquille
07:36from a far worse life
07:38on the streets.
07:40In the span of three years,
07:42Shaquille's family
07:43lived in two cities
07:44in New Jersey,
07:45Fort Stewart, Georgia
07:47and Wiesbaden, Germany.
07:48Shaquille had this
07:49itinerant childhood
07:50where he was a military brat
07:52went from school to school
07:53and he was this tall gangly kid
07:56that nobody could quite figure out.
07:59He became a target
08:00of bullies
08:01that were several years older.
08:02He felt a lot of insecurity
08:04about his size.
08:05He was called Shaquille.
08:06What?
08:07Instead of Shaquille,
08:08it wasn't a Charles Atlas thing
08:09that he got beat up
08:10and he wanted to come back.
08:11He was too big.
08:12I was called by the U.S. Army
08:14to speak on leadership
08:15and teamwork
08:16and motivation.
08:17I finished my lecture.
08:18I turn around.
08:19Here's this giant of a man.
08:22I said,
08:22how long have you been
08:23in service, soldier?
08:24He says,
08:24I'm not in service.
08:26Coach Brown,
08:26I'm only 13 years old.
08:28He came home once
08:29crying that he couldn't
08:30trick-or-treat anymore.
08:32He would get into arguments
08:32because they didn't believe
08:33that he was a certain age.
08:35When his stepfather
08:36was transferred in 1987
08:37to Fort Sam Houston
08:39in San Antonio, Texas,
08:41Shaquille enrolled
08:41at Cole High School.
08:43As a 6'10 junior,
08:45shades of O'Neal's future
08:46vividly emerged
08:47on the basketball court.
08:48In the regional tournament,
08:49he slammed one down
08:51and about 30 seconds later
08:53he did it again.
08:54There were some kids
08:55under the basket
08:56going to take a charge
08:57and the guy said,
08:58oh my gosh,
08:58I better get the medic.
09:00Somebody's going to get killed.
09:02One day some kid
09:03got into it with him
09:04and he ended up
09:05beating him up
09:05pretty badly.
09:06The kid ended up
09:07having an epileptic seizure.
09:09Shaquille O'Neal realized
09:10his size could hurt people.
09:14During his playing career
09:15at Cole,
09:16the Cougars went 68-1
09:17and captured the state championship
09:19in his senior year.
09:20At the 1989 McDonald's
09:22High School All-American game,
09:24O'Neal generated interest
09:25on and off the court.
09:27He goes up to Dick Vitale
09:29and he says,
09:30remember my name,
09:31Mr. Vitale,
09:31but you're going to be
09:32calling it one day.
09:35I can't believe it.
09:36I can't believe it.
09:37That's a seven-footer.
09:38Are you serious?
09:39That was his basketball moment
09:41in which he'd arrived
09:42on a national scale.
09:44I'll tell you one thing,
09:45this guy can play.
09:47In the fall of 1989,
09:49O'Neal began playing for LSU
09:50and Taskmaster Head Coach
09:52Dale Brown.
09:53One day you hear Shaq saying
09:55LSU stands for
09:56Little Shaq University.
09:58After practice,
09:58Coach Brown said,
09:59I want to tell you something,
10:00I want you to listen to tell you.
10:02He said LSU stands for
10:04Louisiana State University.
10:06I think that he respects authority
10:08and I think he wants that authority
10:10to mean what it says.
10:11When I would say put something down
10:14or curfews at 12,
10:16I meant it.
10:17I think he respected that.
10:18I used to get yelled at every day
10:20so I could take it.
10:21So I don't have a problem
10:22when the coach says do it.
10:23I don't have a problem with that.
10:24O'Neal flourished under Brown,
10:25averaging 22 points
10:27and 13 rebounds
10:28in three seasons with the Tigers.
10:29But even as the man among boys
10:31passed into college legend,
10:33he suffered the inevitable consequences
10:35faced by super-sized centers.
10:38You would hear coaches saying,
10:39hey, don't let his shoe grab him,
10:42beat him.
10:43He'd take the beatings
10:44and still leave with 30.
10:46Oh, my goodness!
10:48When the bully side came out of him
10:50and he started being more aggressive
10:52and started attacking,
10:53people started to tell their coaches,
10:55he's too big,
10:56he's too strong,
10:57he's too fast,
10:57he jumps too high.
10:59What do you want us to do?
11:00I didn't have to watch
11:01the Academy Awards in Hollywood.
11:03I saw him on the basketball court.
11:04A referee or two
11:06making the comment to him,
11:07oh, just be quiet and play,
11:09you're big.
11:10He came to a bowling point
11:11at the SEC tournament
11:12in Birmingham.
11:13Got the ball inside the shack,
11:15and guy just wrapped shack up.
11:16Shack slung the guy off him.
11:18Both benches cleared.
11:19You see Dale Brown push Groves,
11:21and then Groves
11:23swings right back at Dale Brown.
11:25That was the turning point
11:26when Shaq decided
11:27that he was going to go
11:28to the lead.
11:29He said,
11:29if I'm going to get beat like this,
11:31I'm going to get paid for it.
11:33Exactly.
11:351992 NBA draft,
11:37the Orlando Magic selects
11:39Shaquille O'Neal
11:40from Louisiana State University.
11:44We knew right then
11:45that we had something,
11:47and that was hope,
11:48that we could win
11:49every game moving forward.
11:51Clearly, our new identity
11:52was going to be wrapped around
11:53the name Shaquille O'Neal.
11:55The popularity of the team
11:56multiplied.
11:57They couldn't go through airports.
11:59He was too popular.
12:00There was too much of a commotion.
12:01Team, may I please
12:02have an autograph, please?
12:03Pull into a hotel
12:05at 2 o'clock in the morning,
12:06and there are just hundreds
12:07of people waiting
12:09outside your hotel.
12:10You know, hey,
12:10you play with Shaquille O'Neal.
12:11Can you get me Shaq's autograph?
12:14His irrepressible charm,
12:15his big smile,
12:17his skill,
12:18got around sort of a rule
12:20that the big guy
12:21is never the popular guy.
12:24When he did the NBA spray,
12:25when it was him,
12:26Russell,
12:27Bill Walton,
12:28Chamberlain,
12:29all the great center,
12:30Jabbar,
12:31he was so flabbergasted.
12:33Wow,
12:34they're putting me
12:34on the level
12:35with these guys already,
12:36and I haven't even
12:37won a ring yet.
12:38I really am going
12:39to be somebody.
12:41Emerging onto the NBA floor
12:42in 1992,
12:43like Sinbad in shorts,
12:45O'Neal averaged 23 points
12:47and won Rookie of the Year on us
12:49and the hearts
12:50of children everywhere.
12:51In 1995,
12:53he captured the scoring title
12:54by averaging 29 points
12:56and led Orlando
12:57to the Eastern Conference title.
12:58But in the finals,
12:59he faced the Rockets,
13:01who had their own colossus,
13:03Hakeem Olajuwon.
13:04The Houston Rockets
13:05have swept
13:06the Orlando Magic.
13:08When he came into the league,
13:10he went right at Patrick Ewing,
13:12right at David Robinson.
13:13He had great success
13:15against Hakeem
13:16in the regular season,
13:17but perhaps in the playoffs,
13:19maybe he did show him
13:20a little bit too much respect.
13:21You just didn't get
13:22that sense that
13:24he had that focus
13:27to be an NBA champion.
13:28You put all that talent
13:31together with no maturity,
13:33it creates problems.
13:36In 1996,
13:37a rift developed
13:38between O'Neal
13:39and the Magic.
13:40After attending
13:40his grandmother's funeral
13:42in New Jersey,
13:42he was seen partying
13:44in Atlanta
13:44that same evening.
13:45The next day,
13:47he showed up late
13:47for a nationally televised game
13:49against the Bulls.
13:50The Sunday game
13:51was starting
13:52and Shaq was not there yet.
13:54NBC asked him
13:55what's up with Shaquille,
13:56and they just hung him out there
13:57like we don't know
13:58where he is.
13:58With a sense of drama,
14:00Shaquille O'Neal
14:01just arrived
14:03at the arena.
14:03I was told
14:05several minutes
14:06before the opening tap
14:07that Shaquille
14:08was in the building.
14:09My comment was,
14:10I'm not sure
14:10whether I'll play him or not.
14:11We as players,
14:12we didn't think
14:13nothing of it.
14:14We lose that game,
14:15he gets stressed
14:16and he storms out of that.
14:17Later on that night,
14:18we go for a ride,
14:19and that's when he tells me,
14:20if I leave,
14:21this is why I'm leaving.
14:22He started hearing
14:23from his agent,
14:24if you want to make it
14:25to the next step,
14:26if you want to win
14:27the NBA Finals,
14:28then maybe
14:28Brian Hill's
14:29not the coach for you.
14:31Shaq still wanting
14:32to do movies,
14:32still wanting to do rap music.
14:34Boy,
14:34what better place
14:35than L.A.?
14:35It was pretty much
14:36an easy sell.
14:37When Shaq went to L.A.,
14:39people were just stunned.
14:41It was probably
14:41the most devastating
14:42free agent defection
14:43in the history of sports.
14:45It was a long,
14:46tedious negotiation,
14:48but our owner
14:49wanted to build a team
14:50that would have a chance
14:52to win a championship
14:53every year.
14:53In July of 1996,
14:55O'Neal signed
14:56a seven-year contract
14:57worth $120 million
14:59to play for the Lakers.
15:00Visions of Showtime II
15:02danced throughout
15:03the City of Angels.
15:05When he came to Los Angeles,
15:06people expected
15:07the Lakers
15:08to win immediately
15:09and for Shaq
15:10to be the person
15:11responsible for that.
15:13We'd had to break up
15:14a good part
15:14of that young team
15:15to make room
15:16for him in the salary cap
15:18and at the same time,
15:19along with him
15:20came Kobe Bryant.
15:21He was young.
15:22I was very, very young
15:23and we just kind of
15:24grew up together.
15:24I mean,
15:25we had our bumps
15:25along the way.
15:26We both wanted
15:27to get to the same place,
15:28but we just didn't know
15:29how to get there together.
15:31San Antonio sweeps
15:32and moves on.
15:34What does the future
15:34hold for the Lakers?
15:36When the Lakers
15:37failed to make
15:37the NBA Finals
15:38over the next three seasons,
15:40O'Neal,
15:41who had averaged 27 points,
15:42caught most of the flack.
15:44Shaquille got beat up
15:45and he's a loser.
15:46He doesn't make
15:47anybody else better.
15:48He's just a big guy
15:49drawing a salary.
15:50They thought,
15:50you know what,
15:51you should be playing
15:51basketball 24 hours a day,
15:52young man,
15:53because you still have
15:53not won the championship yet.
15:55You should dedicate
15:55your life to the game.
15:56Some people say
15:57I've got too much
15:58on my mind.
15:59Movies,
16:00music,
16:00toys.
16:01A lot of times
16:02I got smashed.
16:03He's not concentrating.
16:04He's in movies.
16:05And my thing was,
16:05hey,
16:06Kareem did movies.
16:07Bill Russell did movies.
16:08How come I can't do movies?
16:10Shaquille O'Neal
16:11is the greatest.
16:12They did that
16:13after they were established.
16:16Kareem did movies
16:18when he had already
16:19won a championship
16:20his second year
16:21in the league.
16:24Bill Russell did movies
16:25after his career
16:27was over.
16:30Physical specimen
16:31to ever play the game.
16:32He could completely
16:33dominate
16:33if he would work
16:34a little bit more
16:35on basic fundamental skills.
16:37He's missed
16:3710 consecutive
16:39free throws.
16:40But he doesn't feel
16:41this necessary.
16:42I've won on
16:42every level
16:43except college
16:44and on the NBA level.
16:46He made that
16:47misfortunate quote,
16:48but that was really
16:49starting to brand him.
16:50Every year
16:51that went by,
16:52his legacy
16:53was becoming
16:54the answer to a joke.
16:57This is a team
16:58that is talented.
17:00It's young.
17:01It's on the verge.
17:02In June of 1999,
17:04the Lakers hired
17:05a new head coach,
17:06Phil Jackson,
17:07who won six NBA championships
17:09with Chicago
17:09and Michael Jordan.
17:11When Phil first got there,
17:12he was just trying
17:13to explain stuff to Shaq
17:14and it wasn't getting through
17:15so he had to yell at Shaq.
17:17If you see your general
17:17stand strong,
17:18then you're going
17:19to stand strong.
17:19My father was a drill sergeant.
17:21He used to drill me
17:22every day.
17:22When I left him,
17:23I went to coach
17:24Dale Brown,
17:24who did the same thing.
17:26I really got it
17:26when I met Phil.
17:28I felt like Shaquille
17:29was not ever playing
17:31up to the level
17:32that he had reached
17:34in 94
17:35and got some injuries.
17:36I thought that he
17:37was sitting there
17:38waiting to have
17:38his game activated.
17:40Go into either
17:40Rob or Rick's side,
17:41go corner,
17:42go directly into Shaq.
17:44Where Phil Jackson
17:44truly succeeded
17:45with Shaq
17:47was not so much
17:48in getting him
17:49to play a different game,
17:50but in getting him
17:51to focus on his game.
17:53In the 1999-2000 season,
17:55the underachieving center
17:57played with magnum force,
17:58averaging 14 rebounds
18:00and a league best
18:0130 points,
18:02good enough for the MVP.
18:04Even more important,
18:05Jackson,
18:06the Zen master,
18:07seemed to have created
18:08a current of positive energy
18:09between his two distant stars,
18:11O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
18:13One of the defining moments
18:14of that season
18:15ended up being
18:16in game seven
18:16of the Western Conference
18:17finals where
18:18they're making this
18:19incredible comeback
18:20from 15 down.
18:21In the midst of that run,
18:23Kobe dribbles up
18:24toward the top of the key,
18:26pulls up to what we think
18:27is going to be a jump shot.
18:28I grabbed it
18:29and I was up real high
18:31and I dunked it.
18:32He seen me pointing out
18:33to my wife and my son.
18:35He knows I'm Superman
18:37and he thinks I can really fly.
18:39Kobe's down the middle,
18:40he's in deep,
18:40throws the track,
18:41and comes up.
18:42The Lakers lead by six.
18:44That alley-oop at the end
18:45just symbolized
18:46where they'd come.
18:47Kobe could have taken that shot
18:48but he saw the corner
18:49of his eye,
18:49Shaquille had a better shot
18:51if he could just get
18:51the ball to him.
18:52They have achieved something
18:53here on their own floor
18:54that seemed impossible.
18:56After defeating
18:57the Trailblazers,
18:58the Lakers beat the Pacers
19:00in six games
19:01to win their first NBA championship
19:02in 12 seasons.
19:04O'Neal scored at least
19:0540 points
19:06three times against Indiana.
19:10He's won the championship
19:11and he has won the admiration
19:13of the basketball world.
19:15Look at the tears
19:16running down his feet.
19:18That was absolutely
19:19the most emotional
19:22that I had ever seen
19:23in Shaquille O'Neal.
19:24He was almost in a daze.
19:27It thrilled me to death
19:29to be there
19:30for that first NBA championship.
19:32They said you couldn't do it.
19:34Now the monkey's off your bat.
19:35The MVP of the regular season,
19:38the MVP of the All-Star game,
19:39and the MVP of the finals,
19:42Shaquille O'Neal.
19:45Shaq had put a lot
19:46of things to rest.
19:47A lot of the critics
19:47that may have said
19:48he'd never won at any level.
19:50That's something I think
19:51that took a big burden off of him.
19:53No sooner had they won
19:54that championship
19:55and set off to have
19:56another season,
19:57Shaq was not in shape.
19:59He got into injuries.
20:00Kobe's ambition took over
20:02and all of those problems
20:03came back
20:04and threatened to rupture
20:06every relationship
20:07on that team.
20:08His injuries healed.
20:10O'Neal joined Bryant
20:11and despite their
20:12fractured relationship,
20:13they managed to play
20:14well enough together
20:15to win two more championships.
20:16Can you do that?
20:18But in 2003,
20:20a toe injury hampered O'Neal
20:22through most of the campaign
20:23as the Lakers failed
20:24to reach the conference finals.
20:26The next season,
20:27renewed acrimony
20:28between O'Neal and Bryant
20:30was publicly played out
20:31like a soap opera.
20:32I don't give a s***
20:33who scores the most points.
20:35I don't give a s***
20:36who's getting
20:36the most media attention.
20:38He said what he said,
20:38I said what I said,
20:39we put it behind us,
20:40we move on.
20:41In fighting,
20:42injuries,
20:43and inconsistency
20:44all foretold
20:45the death of a dynasty.
20:46The Detroit Pistons
20:48have just shocked
20:49the Los Angeles Lakers.
20:52Three days after being
20:53upset in five games
20:54by the Pistons
20:55in the finals,
20:56Phil Jackson
20:56was told by the Lakers
20:57owner, Jerry Buss,
20:59his contract
20:59would not be renewed.
21:01The moment Phil Jackson
21:02was not retained,
21:03Shaquille knew
21:04that his days
21:05in Los Angeles
21:06were numbered.
21:07What sets Phil Jackson
21:08apart from other coaches
21:09is his consistency.
21:11Nothing phases him.
21:12When I got rid of Phil,
21:13I was very upset
21:14and I knew that
21:14they were going to
21:15start making changes.
21:16Changes that I didn't
21:17want to be a part of.
21:19He felt that Kobe Bryant
21:20was behind closed doors
21:22just pulling strings
21:23to get rid of everybody.
21:25The Lakers organization
21:27made a commitment
21:27to Kobe Bryant
21:28and Shaq felt that.
21:30He understood that.
21:30So right then,
21:31he wanted to go.
21:32He wanted to go somewhere
21:33where he was going
21:33to be appreciated
21:34and respected.
21:35Shaq has a need
21:36to be liked.
21:37He needed a new place
21:38to be the new
21:40popular kid in class.
21:42After 12 NBA seasons
21:44in which he averaged
21:4527 points and 12 rebounds,
21:47O'Neal was traded
21:48to Miami in July of 2004.
21:50One of his early
21:51public statements
21:52to Heat fans
21:53amounted to a
21:53solemn promise.
21:54There would be no
21:55repeat of the Kobe wars.
21:57I'm letting you know
21:58now it's Dwayne Wade's
21:59team.
22:00He's our type of guard
22:01that could lead us
22:02and do good things.
22:03And I'm just his
22:03big brother.
22:04I'm just here to
22:05back him up.
22:06With Kobe,
22:06it was more like
22:07that little brother
22:07that would annoy it.
22:09With Dwayne Wade,
22:10it's that little brother
22:10that Shaq's proud of.
22:11That he wants to be
22:12out there and let
22:12everybody see,
22:13this is my little brother.
22:14Look what he's doing.
22:15Winning one with
22:16Dwayne Wade will prove,
22:18especially his mind,
22:19that Kobe was better
22:20than Dwayne Wade.
22:21So why would he hand
22:22the keys to Dwayne Wade
22:23but not Kobe?
22:26Average 30 in 2003.
22:30He was never the
22:30problem in LA.
22:33With three NBA
22:34championship rings
22:35and his many
22:36finals MVP awards,
22:38O'Neal's legacy
22:39is already secure
22:40in the eyes
22:41of his peers.
22:42Shaq is the greatest
22:43center of his time.
22:45He's proven that.
22:46It took him a while
22:47to get to the top,
22:48but he worked hard
22:49and got to the top
22:50and stayed there.
22:51That's a testimony
22:52to his greatness.
22:53He has his size
22:54and his stature,
22:54but he still can handle
22:55the ball.
22:56He still can reverse
22:57the ball.
22:58He still can jump.
23:00Shaq's TNT partner.
23:03Oh,
23:03and
23:04the old captain
23:06is absolutely right.
23:10Shaq's the greatest
23:11center of the
23:1221st century.
23:14Greatest center
23:15of the last
23:1735 years.
23:20Probably
23:21even 40
23:23if you put him on
23:24above Hakeem.
23:28But Jokic
23:29is on his tail.
23:32He understands
23:33the game,
23:34which is most
23:35impressive to me
23:36at his size
23:36where he doesn't
23:37really have to.
23:38In 25 years,
23:39I don't think
23:39there'll be any more
23:40players my size.
23:41I think they'll be
23:42tall,
23:42but I don't think
23:43they'll be this
23:44big.
23:46This is sexy.
23:47This is defined.
23:48I'm the last
23:49in my beat.
23:52On December 26,
23:542002,
23:55Shaquille O'Neal
23:56married Shawnee Nelson,
23:57who was pregnant
23:58with their third
23:59child.
24:00The following
24:00Valentine's Day,
24:01an exclusive
24:02Beverly Hills
24:02restaurant,
24:04and a chef's
24:05half with
24:05Chef O'Neal
24:06and cooked
24:07a six-course
24:08dinner in honor
24:08of his new bride.
24:10The fair included
24:11Alaskan king crab
24:12legs,
24:12ribeye steak,
24:13roasted lamb,
24:14and chicken.
24:14Shaq signed
24:16autographs
24:16and posed
24:17for a picture
24:17with the staff.
24:18Just another
24:19intimate supper
24:20with the man
24:21who would be king.
24:23For SportsCentury,
24:24I'm Chris Fowler.
24:25couple two years old,
24:26who was talking to you
24:26with chickens and
24:26Ladies and Winnie Estados.
24:27And that has been
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