148: 081: This time, it’s my turn to shake people!
(Asking for monthly votes!)_2 148: 081: This time, it’s my turn to shake people!
(Asking for monthly votes!)_2 Last season, when Roger and Pippen were locked in a battle of wits in the locker room and Jordan was pacing anxiously off the basketball court, the scoring battle between the two giants, O’Neal and David Robinson, was extremely intense.
Before the final game of the regular season began, O’Neal had already scored a total of 2345 points, leading the second-ranked Robinson by as much as 33 points.
It seemed as if Shaq was about to win the scoring title in his second season entering the NBA.
But Robinson did something that might be considered the biggest black mark of his career.
In the last regular season game against the Clippers, the entire Spurs team fed the ball to the Admiral, even letting him stay on the court to continue scoring during garbage time.
The then head coach of the Spurs, John Lucas, even ordered during a timeout, “Foul the Clippers players quickly, let them take free throws, save time, and then let David go for solo scoring!”
Most players who pad their stats at least pretend a bit, usually doing so when the score difference is around 10 points and there are still more than 20 seconds left in the game under the guise of a desire to win, scoring one or two points.
But David Robinson, along with the entire Spurs team, didn’t even pretend and just openly padded the stats.
Ultimately, the Admiral scored a career-high 71 points in a single game—the first to score 70+ since David “Skywalker” Thompson in 1978.
To be fair, the Admiral’s shooting was indeed impressive during the game, and he was certainly powerful.
Despite facing double or triple teams occasionally, he was still able to score.
It can’t be denied that not just anyone can score 71 points.
But the fact that he continued to pad his stats even during garbage time when his team was leading by dozens of points is also true.
With this game, the Admiral surpassed O’Neal on the scoring leader board to become the scoring champion.
Thus, the rivalry escalated.
O’Neal naturally made a sarcastic comment, “That 71 points is nice, but for me, getting 50 wins for the team is more important than being the scoring king.
Especially for a scoring title that was padded.”
Magic head coach, Brian Hill, also supported Shaq, “Of course we wanted O’Neal to win the scoring title, but we would not do something as ludicrous as what the Spurs did.
Padding stats during garbage time is not the behavior of a great player; it’s an insult to the game of basketball.”
So the typically courteous David Robinson took the initiative to attack O’Neal before their upcoming encounter.
People are multifaceted.
Maybe the Admiral does have a good temper, but that doesn’t mean he is patient about everything.
In response to Robinson’s statements, O’Neal immediately launched a strong rebuttal, “I have nothing to say to someone who pads stats, he and his group of self-deceiving friends with their hair dyed in flashy colors should continue playing their game of ‘make sure David scores 70 points every game.'”
O’Neal’s rebuttal was not unexpected, as his current level of disdain for the Admiral was such that he even fabricated a story in his first autobiography about going to David Robinson for an autograph in high school, only to be shooed away by Robinson.
However, as everyone knows, Robinson is not someone who would do such a thing, and O’Neal himself admitted after retiring, “I’m sorry Mr.
Robinson, I made up those stories.”
The fact that O’Neal directly fabricated stories in his autobiography to denigrate him shows just how bad their relationship was.
However, O’Neal’s attack was too wide-ranging, affecting the entire Spurs team, especially highlighting the guy with the flashy hair.
Therefore, Spurs team ambassador and one of NBA’s top 50 good guys, Dennis Rodman, a recipient of Madonna’s $20 million pregnancy bounty, decided to join the fray:
He talks about championships?
The fact is in the past two seasons, in four encounters, he hasn’t won against the Spurs once.
And not in any game, yes, not in any game did he score more than David.
With that, he competes for scoring king with his big butt?
We handle him just like tackling a punching bag.
With that level, he talks to me about championships?
I have two championship rings, and I’ll be getting my third this summer, while you, idiot, will never get one in your lifetime.”
All he has is size, that’s it.
“Hurry up, bring your high school buddies to San Antonio, Uncle Danny will teach you a lesson.”
Bulls**t, I don’t believe in that.”
How to upset someone?
Rodman spoke the truth, and O’Neal had never won against the Admiral, not even once.
O’Neal was so upset he lost his appetite, only sampling five airplane meals today.
So on the plane, he clutched Roger’s pants leg and rolled around on the floor, “You have to make them understand what the truth is!”
Roger was resigned to it, feeling like a father whose son had been bullied and needed help getting revenge.
But with such a big “son,” Roger didn’t really feel like a father.
But remembering how Shaq had spoken up for him during contract renewal, Roger looked at him with a bit more fatherly affection, “Don’t worry Shaq, a small Texas town can’t keep us contained.
For now, let’s focus on the upcoming game.”
Before January 10, the Magic Team had three more games to go.
And it seemed like Roger was showing his value to Pat Williams, as well as warning the outspoken Rodman and the Admiral.
He had kicked into gear since entering 1995, displaying explosive performances in three consecutive games.