From Michael Jordan to LeBron James via Kobe Bryant or Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal has faced many legends during his long career in the NBA. If no one has ever really found the solution to stop the Shaq in his prime, some have offered him great oppositions. We think in particular of a totally improbable player … who made him experience a real ordeal.
Talkative and exciting, these are two adjectives that define it well. In his podcast Big Podcast with Shaq, Shaquille O’Neal spoke about the strongest players he has faced in his career. In a joking tone, one of the speakers spoke of the stereotype of white players lacking athleticism and “toughness” in the racket. But the Shaq brushed aside this cliché …
Yet when you think of the Big Aristotle against the white interiors, you have violent images that come to mind – like this ultra-cheeky dunk on Chris Dudley, where Shaq grabs the basket and pushes his opponent to the ground after the action. . We therefore did not expect him to name a player who put him in difficulty. And yet!
Against all odds, the Big Cactus responded very seriously and spoke of an opponent who gave him a hard time in his day. This is Dino Radja, a Croatian inside who made a short stint in the NBA but often found the solution to annoy Shaq:
Shaquille O’Neal: “There was this guy, Dino Radja in Boston, one of the toughest guys I’ve played”
Radja had found the effective formula to face the Shaq. During the 94/95 season, the interior understood that he had to use his technique and his speed and not go to a physical showdown with the Magic phenomenon… and it paid off!
The European Hall of Famer, who has no tongue in his pocket, spoke about his clashes with Shaq: “He couldn’t defend me. In my 3rd season, we played 5 times and I had an average of 27 points against Orlando, he remembers that very well. »Stats that few interiors can indeed boast against the Big Cactus …
Shaquille O’Neal considers Dino Radja to be the white interior that put him in trouble the most during his career. A pride for the Croatian, who obviously does not miss an opportunity to recall it!
