Shaquille O’Neal Must Embrace Ubuntu to Preserve His Legacy
August 7th, 2010 by Frances White Leave a reply »We have seen this before in Los Angeles, when the Lakers added an older Karl Malone and Gary Payton to their roster. Kobe Bryant wanted to put Shaquille O'Neal on notice about his grown man game. Shaq wasn't having it and both Malone and Payton walked into the middle of two alpha-males wanting to be top dog.
That season Malone was hampered with injuries and was in and out of the lineup. Payton couldn't adapt to the Triangle offense and the ball would get stuck in his hands. There was no chemistry on or off the court and the team suffered.
Advancing to the 2004 Finals, they were beaten soundly by a more unselfish team in the Detroit Pistons. Everyone said that Shaq was to blame for the discord and the Lakers traded him to the Miami Heat after Dwyane Wade's rookie season.
Six years later this still seems to be the prevailing sentiment among NBA types. He dogged it in Miami after he won the 2006 championship, claiming he was injured. Pat Riley had enough and O'Neal was once again pushed out of town to the Phoenix Suns because of his supposed "me" attitude.
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Frances White
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