FTFA: So Delonte West is sitting there and he's seen enough and he stands up and says, 'Hold up, now. You can't be pussyfooting around like that. Unless its with Gloria, right Lebron ?

veedeevadeevoodee: FTFA: So Delonte West is sitting there and he's seen enough and he stands up and says, 'Hold up, now. You can't be pussyfooting around like that. Unless its with Gloria, right Lebron ?

He said footing, not eating.

http://deadspin.com/5835353/more-leaked-shaq-emails-we-dnt-want-them-d o-what-they-r-doing-to-tiger

I've been waiting for Shaq to speak his mind on LeDouche for a while now.

How's no rings taste, Lebron?

Shaq's ass > Tebow?

I always believed he could turn it on at any moment, but for some reason he didn't.


Oh what sweet, sweet irony. Shaq calling someone out for not living up to his potential.

rickythepenguin: I always believed he could turn it on at any moment, but for some reason he didn't.


Oh what sweet, sweet irony. Shaq calling someone out for not living up to his potential.

(looks at Shaq's career in LA, looks at LeBouncedOutOfThePlayoffsYetAgain's time in Cleveland, thinks rickythepenguin is living in fantasyland).

PowerSlacker: Shaq's ass > Tebow?

On a purely mass basis, probably.

rickythepenguin: I always believed he could turn it on at any moment, but for some reason he didn't.


Oh what sweet, sweet irony. Shaq calling someone out for not living up to his potential.

Ummm. you do realize that Shaq has 4 championship rings, playing on 2 different teams, don't you? Shaq eating too many donuts in the twilight of his career is a tad bit different than LeBron shrinking from the challenge in his prime.

rickythepenguin: I always believed he could turn it on at any moment, but for some reason he didn't.


Oh what sweet, sweet irony. Shaq calling someone out for not living up to his potential.

Shaq didn't live up to his potential? I'm not the biggest NBA fan, but I thought he had done quite well for himself. He didn't?

/not counting games and music

IAmRight: lol @ the Cleveland haters being so stupid that they refuse to understand rickythepenguin's post

/it's easy to dominate when you're a big man
//another reason Dwight Howard is the most overrated player in the NBA

You're right... only big men dominated NBA...

Coach not allowed to call out the star for dogging it on D?

No wonder they collapsed in the playoffs every year.

skrame: rickythepenguin: I always believed he could turn it on at any moment, but for some reason he didn't.


Oh what sweet, sweet irony. Shaq calling someone out for not living up to his potential.

Shaq didn't live up to his potential? I'm not the biggest NBA fan, but I thought he had done quite well for himself. He didn't?

/not counting games and music

The knock on Shaq's career is that, if he had worked as hard on his game as Jordan or Kobe did, he could have been the undisputed greatest center of all time. As it is, he's in the top 5, along with Russell, Wilt, Moses, and Hakeem. Kind of like the smart kid in high school who partied every weekend and still cruised to a 3.5 GPA.

IAmRight: ddam: You're right... only big men dominated NBA...

Do you read what people actually right or just read three words in a sentence, assume the person says the dumbest thing possible, and then argue that? Apparently that's what I've been doing wrong on the internet - actually reading people's sentences.

I read what you wrote and it still doens't make any sense. If big men can dominate NBA easier than the best player of the 80s/90s should have been a big man because there were a ton of quality centers in that era. Yet Jordan beat every single team, especially those built around big men.

So why didn't Patrick Ewing dominate the NBA? Why didn't Malone dominate the NBA?

The fact is that there are more small players (SGs or SFs) dominating the NBA throughout the history than big men.

IAmRight: skrame: Shaq didn't live up to his potential? I'm not the biggest NBA fan, but I thought he had done quite well for himself. He didn't?

His habits of never working out in the offseason and "playing his way into shape" every year are well-noted.

And guess what... He EARNED that right.

The headline reminded me of this (new window) (NSFW or childhood memories)

T.rex: Ummm. you do realize that Shaq has 4 championship rings, playing on 2 different teams, don't you? Shaq eating too many donuts in the twilight of his career is a tad bit different than LeBron shrinking from the challenge in his prime.


can you imagine how many more rings Shaq would have had, had he and Kobe managed to coexist? i realize you could arguably blame Kobe just as much for that, but....Shaq spent the last probably 6+ years of his career on cruise control.

granted he won 3 in a row i believe, but....there's no question whatsoever that Shaq didn't live up to his potential. he arguably ate himself out of at least 1 more if not perhaps 2-4 more championships.

the mind reels at what shaq could have accomplished in the NBA.

you know that iconic play in i think Kobe's rookie year, where Kobe is dribbling at th etop of the key, and -- i forget (shows how iconic it was, lol) if it was an alley-opp that Shaq housed or if it was a lob pass that shaq housed, but it was the kind of scarily mobile, freakishly athletic and dizzyingly quick play that disappeared about as quickly as it happened. Had he managed his weight, and even half-assedly stuck to a conditioning program, oh what shaq could have been.

instead he would show up fatter and fatter every year, or wait until October to get surgery ("i got injured on company time, i'm gonna get healthy on company time") and come back in January and play into shape. and then not win a ring.

IAmRight: lol @ the Cleveland haters being so stupid that they refuse to understand rickythepenguin's post

/it's easy to dominate when you're a big man
//another reason Dwight Howard is the most overrated player in the NBA

Lol what?

rickythepenguin: granted he won 3 in a row i believe, but....there's no question whatsoever that Shaq didn't live up to his potential. he arguably ate himself out of at least 1 more if not perhaps 2-4 more championships.

the mind reels at what shaq could have accomplished in the NBA.

One of the things that people forget about Shaq is that being a massively huge person is really really bad for you, especially on your knees and back. If Shaq worked out in the off season like a normal NBA player, his knees would have been shot way earlier. Yeah, he could have been better about it (and could have practiced his free throws), but to say that he should have been working as hard in the off season as a PG is ridiculous.

F*ck LeBJ. This cannot be overstated.

Zombie Neurosurgeon: If Shaq worked out in the off season like a normal NBA player, his knees would have been shot way earlier

he didn't need to be a gym rat, shooting 1,000 baskets a day, or balling in Rucker Park or (like steve nash) playing pickup soccer games; he just needed to keep his weight to a manageable level.

he got fat. he's an athlete. those two things dont' go well together.

now, he didn't go full Tony Gwynn (how many hits did he leave on the field, the last 3-5 years of his career) or, better example, SHaun Kemp, but he got fat. and it hurt his legacy.

Zombie Neurosurgeon: rickythepenguin: granted he won 3 in a row i believe, but....there's no question whatsoever that Shaq didn't live up to his potential. he arguably ate himself out of at least 1 more if not perhaps 2-4 more championships.

the mind reels at what shaq could have accomplished in the NBA.

One of the things that people forget about Shaq is that being a massively huge person is really really bad for you, especially on your knees and back. If Shaq worked out in the off season like a normal NBA player, his knees would have been shot way earlier. Yeah, he could have been better about it (and could have practiced his free throws), but to say that he should have been working as hard in the off season as a PG is ridiculous.

Shaq made a choice to start packing on the weight when he thought he was being shoved around by some of the bigger centers in the league. He wanted more power.

rickythepenguin: Zombie Neurosurgeon: If Shaq worked out in the off season like a normal NBA player, his knees would have been shot way earlier

he didn't need to be a gym rat, shooting 1,000 baskets a day, or balling in Rucker Park or (like steve nash) playing pickup soccer games; he just needed to keep his weight to a manageable level.

he got fat. he's an athlete. those two things dont' go well together.

now, he didn't go full Tony Gwynn (how many hits did he leave on the field, the last 3-5 years of his career) or, better example, SHaun Kemp, but he got fat. and it hurt his legacy.

I definitely agree that he could have been better, but Shaq's legacy is never going to be the most skilled center, or that he worked that hardest, or wanted it the most. He's always going to be the guy who was so big, strong and unstoppable that teams just gave up trying to defend him. When you're so dominant at something that everyone else has agreed that they can't let you play the same game, it's got to be pretty hard to stay motivated.

Wow, a lot of nonsense in here. Shaq is top 5 C of all time, top 25 player of all time, 4 rings, scoring titles, etc. INCREDIBLY athletic for his size, good defender, underrated passer. Getting fat in his twilight years in no way diminishes his legacy.

/also one of the more entertaining athletes ever

Shaq is very big and eats tacos. That makes him qualified to say whatever he wants.

Shaq's broadcasting career ends before it even begins.....

You know, I was just thinking about this earlier.

I predict Shaq's book outsells Obama's

This isn't about untapped potential. Sure, Shaq may have a gut, but LeBron is gutless. That was Shaq's point. Shaq was never scared of the moment. He wanted the ball. Even when his own teammates probably didn't want him to have the ball.

T.rex: Shaq eating too many donuts in the twilight of his career is a tad bit different than LeBron shrinking from the challenge in his prime.

How well did Shaq do when he was in Orlando, or in the early years in LA? I mean, Shaq didn't win a title until, what, his 8th season in the league?

Not to mention, as much as people complain about superstar treatment in the NBA, nobody has EVER received the kind of treatment Shaq received in the paint.

He would occasionally draw fouls because he would run into a big guy (one example is Arvydas Sabonis) and the guy would NOT fly backward 5 feet.

ddam: If big men can dominate NBA easier than the best player of the 80s/90s should have been a big man because there were a ton of quality centers in that era. Yet Jordan beat every single team, especially those built around big men.

The Bulls are one of the only teams in the past few DECADES to win multiple championships without a high-quality scoring big man (either at C or PF).

IAmRight: zunkus: Getting fat in his twilight years in no way diminishes his legacy.

He was also known in his younger days for rapping and starring in sh*tty movies rather than working on his shortcomings in the offseason.

FFS, no one's saying he wasn't a dominant force, you retards. We're saying it's ironic that he would talk about untapped potential, because he could've been the greatest of all time. And there's nothing wrong with enjoying yourself and having fun - being the greatest of all time is only a big deal to self-important douchebags.

Therein lies the problem though. Outside of this FARK thread I've never heard anything about Shaq not living up to his potential. Seriously, everyone is entitled to their opinion but I've literally never heard this argument before. Its just odd, considereing I've heard a bunch about how hard he use to work.

rickythepenguin: now, he didn't go full Tony Gwynn (how many hits did he leave on the field, the last 3-5 years of his career)

If Tony Gwynn left a bunch of hits on the field, apparently you're implying he would have hit somewhere around .400 in his very late 30s.

I don't mean that as a knock on you, I'm just trying to put that into perspective for people who don't realize how GOOD Tony Gwynn was at the plate.

zunkus: Outside of this FARK thread I've never heard anything about Shaq not living up to his potential.

I've never heard it, but it's actually somewhat correct.

Similar to the Tony Gwynn example, how much "better" could he have REALLY been? I don't think either guy was going to be a top-flight player in the league into his mid 40s, so it's sort of a silly argument to make.

puffy999: T.rex: Shaq eating too many donuts in the twilight of his career is a tad bit different than LeBron shrinking from the challenge in his prime.

How well did Shaq do when he was in Orlando, or in the early years in LA? I mean, Shaq didn't win a title until, what, his 8th season in the league?

Got to the finals with Orlando (while MJ was learning to hit a curveball) and lost to Houston. LA was just starting to get its house in order when he and Kobe (and Fisher) joined. They never got to the finals until PJ installed the triangle. And some leadership.

puffy999: Not to mention, as much as people complain about superstar treatment in the NBA, nobody has EVER received the kind of treatment Shaq received in the paint.

He would occasionally draw fouls because he would run into a big guy (one example is Arvydas Sabonis) and the guy would NOT fly backward 5 feet.

The league also changed the rules in 2001 to lessen his impact; they allowed zone defenses because Sacramento couldn't guard him any other way.

puffy999: ddam: If big men can dominate NBA easier than the best player of the 80s/90s should have been a big man because there were a ton of quality centers in that era. Yet Jordan beat every single team, especially those built around big men.

The Bulls are one of the only teams in the past few DECADES to win multiple championships without a high-quality scoring big man (either at C or PF).

That's because the triangle offense doesn't rely on a scoring center or dominant point guard. In fact, it requires the center to pass more than score! It's truly a beautiful, "whole team" basketball philosophy. I don't know why more teams didn't copy Tex Winters' sets.

Mitch Taylor's Bro: That's because the triangle offense doesn't rely on a scoring center or dominant point guard. In fact, it requires the center to pass more than score! It's truly a beautiful, "whole team" basketball philosophy. I don't know why more teams didn't copy Tex Winters' sets.

Because it doesn't fit the prototype for most positions in the league.

And, for the record, Shaq was an excellent passer from the post.

zunkus: IAmRight: zunkus: Getting fat in his twilight years in no way diminishes his legacy.

He was also known in his younger days for rapping and starring in sh*tty movies rather than working on his shortcomings in the offseason.

FFS, no one's saying he wasn't a dominant force, you retards. We're saying it's ironic that he would talk about untapped potential, because he could've been the greatest of all time. And there's nothing wrong with enjoying yourself and having fun - being the greatest of all time is only a big deal to self-important douchebags.

Therein lies the problem though. Outside of this FARK thread I've never heard anything about Shaq not living up to his potential. Seriously, everyone is entitled to their opinion but I've literally never heard this argument before. Its just odd, considereing I've heard a bunch about how hard he use to work.

On his podcast with JackieMac, Simmons referred to Shaq as (paraphrasing) "The guy who could've had a 4.0 GPA, yet only got a 3.25 but had a fun time in college."

That's Shaq in a nutshell: Yeah, he could've won 10 rings. Been the greatest C of all time and all that. To himself he knew he had only one life and one chance to enjoy it and did so...and still won 4 rings doing it.

Nobody was wired like Jordan (a stone-cold assassin), so why are people trying to say that Shaq should've been wired like Jordan when Shaq was just being himself?