Shaquille O’Neal and former San Antonio Spurs great David Robinson had a rocky relationship stemming from an autograph incident when O’Neal was playing high school ball at Cole High School in San Antonio.
Then there was Shaq’s autobiography, “Shaq Talks Back,” where Shaq questioned how good Robinson and Tim Duncan would be if they were not paired, called Robinson a “punk ass,” angered because Robinson won a title before he did, and was peeved Robinson won the scoring title in 1994.
Not to mention his dunk on Robinson during the 1995 NBA All-Star Game in San Antonio also added fuel to the fire.
Of course they had their personal battles on the court, reaching its apex during the height of the Lakers-Spurs rivalry, but now that Shaq is retired, he considers Robinson one of the best centers of all-time:
One of the game’s greatest centers considers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be the best to ever play the position. And, excluding himself from the conversation, O’Neal considers Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson to be among the top five centers of all time.
I’m sure all of the verbal shots and incidents were just used as motivation for Shaq on the court but it’s good to see O’Neal listing “The Admiral” as a top-five center. Of course any top-center list must have O’Neal’s named penciled in as well.
What do you think Spurs fans? Is it all “water under the bridge,” or do you still harbor any resentments towards Shaq?
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