A review of the story of one of the greatest players to step onto the hardwood.
Shaquille O’Neal was one of the greatest centers to play in the NBA.
He was a massive man, standing at 7-1 and over 300 pounds. But what made him special and thus different from other players his size was his combination of athleticism and skills, making him a problem for anyone to defend.
However, Shaq wasn’t just a talented basketball player –he was also an entertainer.
He had a larger-than-life personality that he often used to humor and entertain others, which helped him acquire a ton of opportunities off of the hardwood (and when I say a ton, I mean it).
His autobiography, Shaq Uncut: My Story, tells the tale of how “The Diesel” became the most dominant player in the NBA and one of the biggest personalities in the media.
Shaq Uncut starts with stories from his youth, chronicling the hardships he went through and how basketball was introduced into his life at a time when he needed it most.
The book then runs through his college and professional careers, talking about his relationships (good and bad) with coaches, players, franchise executives and media talking heads.
My Thoughts on ‘Shaq Uncut: My Story’ by Shaquille O’Neal
I enjoyed reading this book.
Shaq’s life story is interesting and it was fascinating to read about the struggles he faced and his solutions to them.
It was also amusing to learn his side of the story when it comes to his relationship with the elite stars he played with.
For instance, he talked about why the combination of him and Penny Hardaway didn’t work out with the Orlando Magic, despite them being two of the most talented young players in the early 90s.
He also commented on Kobe Bryant and talked about how their love/hate relationship developed.
However, I will add that the writing in the book isn’t the greatest.
I didn’t expect it to be at the level of an Ernest Hemingway novel, but I did expect some of the sentences to be written better and some of the stories to be told with more detail.
But it was by no means unbearable. I liked reading it and would recommend others to read it too, especially if you are a Shaq or basketball fan.
The Best 26 Quotes from ‘Shaq Uncut: My Story’
Here are the quotes I found to be interesting and/or important from the book:
- “I didn’t care, because I was terrified about what I did to that kid. For a long time afterward when I turned out the light, all I could see was his face with his eyes rolling back in his head. That was it for me. From that day on, I was done being a bully.”
- “So he’s got the Bird thing down, so now I’ve got to get the Magic Johnson routine down. That means I’ve got to learn how to dribble, make the no-look pass, all that stuff. We’re out there every day playing Magic vs. Bird, Celtics vs. Lakers, and I’m learning skills that big men don’t ever show. I’m developing some moves.”
- “‘Discipline and hard work are both great gifts. If you use them properly, you can be anything you want to be.’”
- “If you can’t learn to laugh at yourself, then you are going to have one long miserable life, especially if you are seven feet tall.”
- “He said to me, ‘It’s not always about winning at all costs. Everybody deserves a chance. You have to develop the players around you. That’s what great players do. It’s your job to make sure it comes out okay.’ So now I’m a senior in high school and it’s my job to make sure it comes out okay. Every game I’d take over for the first seven possessions and we’d be ahead 10–2 or 14–4. Once that happened I’d dribble the ball up and start dishing to Darren Mathey or Joe. My job was to be the point center and get everyone feeling part of it. Instead of being a show-off and just scoring every time down the floor, that’s what I did. It brought us closer together. My father always taught me team ball. ‘You can’t do it yourself,’ he told me over and over.”
- “It just didn’t make sense in games to take those kind of shots when I could just as easily slam the ball through. It was all about high percentage shots. My field goal percentage in my senior year of high school was 71 percent.”
- “Doc Broussard was wrong about me. I didn’t declare for the NBA draft that spring. I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t even started taking my business classes yet. I knew how to balance a checkbook, but that was about it. I needed to learn about making a living in case this basketball thing didn’t work out. I needed an education.”
- “He was also happy that I was learning how to conduct business. Sarge was proud of my basketball accomplishments, but he always threw the same thing in my face. ‘You aren’t going to be some stupid fucking African dunking basketballs the rest of your life,’ he’d say. ‘You are smarter than that.’”
- “He says there is such a thing as being too generous. My feeling on that is you can’t take it with you.”
- “Here is the reason I didn’t say much. I’m very superstitious, and I wasn’t going to talk about being the No. 1 pick until I actually was drafted as the No. 1 pick.”
- “Even at that point of my life, when my career was about to take off, I still wasn’t 100 percent sure of my ability. I didn’t share my fears with anyone, but they kept me awake at night.”
- “My movies were not what you’d call award-winning. But doing Blue Chips was a blast. It’s where I met Penny Hardaway, and why I pressured the Orlando Magic to draft him instead of Chris Webber.”
- “We never had any money, but he was going to take me out for a burger. We’re heading there and we see this homeless guy on the street, and my dad calls him over and he gives him our money for the burgers. ‘You always help those less fortunate than you,’ said Sarge.”
- “Back then, after your first contract expired, you became a free agent. You could sign with anybody. But right after I left Orlando they changed the rules. Now after your first contract you are what they call a ‘restricted’ free agent, which means the team that drafted you can match any offer.”
- “My only complaint with some of my fellow NBA players is they don’t give back enough. Yeah, some of them have foundations, but if you ask them, it’s just a tax break for them, nothing more. Some guys are generous, but not enough of them.”
- “We were sitting on the bus once and he told me, ‘I’m going to be the number one scorer for the Lakers, I’m going to win five or six championships, and I’m going to be the best player in the game.’ I was like, ‘Okay, whatever.’ Then he looked me right in the eye and said, ‘I’m going to be the Will Smith of the NBA.’”
- “In May of that season I coined myself the Big Aristotle, because, as I explained, it was Aristotle who said, ‘Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit.’ My plan was to make winning championships a habit.”
- “The best thing that happened to us that season was Kobe got injured and had to sit out nine games. Like I’ve said before, he’s a smart guy, so while he’s sitting there and he’s watching us win eight out of nine games, he notices that when the ball is moving and everyone touches it, we’re a better team. Give him credit. When he came back after his injury, he was a different guy.”
- “DWade reminded me a little bit of myself when I was in that first Finals against Hakeem. He was being too nice, too respectful of the opponent. I told him, ‘Get mean. Get hungry. You can take over this series.’ They were fronting me and backing me, so I couldn’t do shit. DWade needed to step up and take over.”
- “I learned that from Hakeem in my first Finals. I bowled him in the stomach and he said, ‘That was a good one.’ He never talked trash, never got mad. He came down on the next play, threw five moves at me, and hit a fadeaway. As we were running back down the floor he said, ‘You’ve got to hit me harder, big fella.’ I remember thinking, Damn, so that’s how it’s done.”
- “The Phoenix trainer—Aaron Nelson—was the one who solved it. He and his Phoenix staff have done amazing things to bring back injured athletes through the years like Grant Hill, Antonio McDyess, and Steve Nash, who has been dealing with a chronic back problem for years. He also hooked me up with this dude named Michael Clark, who was the team physical therapist for the Suns, and explained to me that my body was breaking down due to a series of ‘misfires.’”
- “Grant was able to reinvent himself as the ultimate role player after his injuries. He’d stand back and watch and absorb what was going on in the game and then adjust to it. His basketball IQ was off the charts.”
- “When you work as hard as Steve Nash and Grant Hill do, there should be some rewards on the other end. But that’s not how life works, and it sure as hell isn’t how sports works. Don’t you dare tell me that Nash and Grant Hill aren’t winners. Please. If they don’t end up with a championship that will be a shame, but don’t judge them on that.”
- “I told people, ‘It’s like Michael Jordan told me. Before you succeed, you must first fail.’”
- “So what kind of opportunities are out there for professional athletes? It’s up to them, how they market themselves. I can tell you what’s out there if you are Dwight Howard or Magic Johnson. There’s potential for a guy like Rajon Rondo—if he wants it. His personality is a little different, so he might not like being out front all the time.”
- “People keep asking me what I want my legacy to be. I don’t know. How about this: I was generous, I was dominant, I was unique. That would work.”
Final Thoughts
Shaq Uncut is a good read for anyone who grew up watching Shaq (literally) break backboards or anyone who wants to learn more about one of the funniest commentators on TNT.
So if you’re interested in reading it, you can click here (affiliate link) to buy the book from Amazon.