SHAQUILLE O'NEAL
by Usman and Michael
Todays Date:
One of the most Dominant center in basketball history 7-1 over 330 lbs. center Shaquille Oneal was born on March 16, 1972 in Newark, New Jersy.Through lucrative endorsement contracts and pet projects like rap music and clothing design, ONeal has also become one of the most visible sports personalities of the era. ONeal spent his early years in the rough, inner-city confines of Newark, New Jersey. In 1984 he went to Germany and came back After 5 years and start playing in college basketball team. In 1992, he went to NBA Draft and was drafted by the Orlando Magic to 7 year $40 Million contract. In 1996, he was restricted free agent and was signed by LA Lakers and after only 3 years, he won his first NBA title and was named NBA finals MVP. He won 2 straight titles after that and was named finals MVP.
One of the many things that make Shaq my hero is that he is UNIQUE. And what I mean by that is that he is the only athlete who has released about 7 hip-hop/rap records. Another unique thing about this 7 ' 1" is his unique playing style which is unstopable and is starting to get more popular than any other playing style. And because of this style, Shaq has really been "unstopable" and for me, that is another quality in a hero.
Another quality that
Shaq has is his LEADERSHIP. Always when you are watching the Lakers game, one thing that you
will notice is that Shaq is running the floor instead of the point guard of the team. The point guard will
stop 23 feet away from the basket, pass the ball to Shaq, and then Shaq will decide what to do!!
He is one of the best captains in the world. He leads his team in good and/or bad situations. And the L.A.
Lakers know that he will make a big come back and/or maintain the lead. He is also one of the most trusted
player in NBA and thats why he is respected by every athlete.A hero cant be a hero if he is not
RESPECTED. And its shown over and over again
that Shaq is not only respected by his fans, but he is also respected by great sports legend live Julius
Erving (Dr.J), Ervin "Magic" Johnson, Mohammad Ali (boxer), Phil Jackson and many more. He also
is respected by greatest rap stars like Xzibit, Dr.Dre, Snoop Dogg etc. So this shows that he is a hero
without a shadow of a doubt.In the end, all I
would like to say that there is only one Shaq who can be imitated but never ever duplicated. There were
many great athletes, there are many great athletes and there will be more great athletes in the future,
but no one and I mean no one can take 10 times all star Shaq's place.
Page created on 7/26/2004 12:00:00 AM
Last edited 7/26/2004 12:00:00 AM
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