Phil Jackson: Shaq Played the Clown Role (@shaq)
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- March 2, 2014
Legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson has 11 championship rings to his name, and has brought out the best in greats like Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
In a panel at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Jackson shed some light on their work ethics.
“Shaq didn’t work at it,” Jackson said. “Michael was able to succeed despite all kinds of limitations in his game. He couldn’t hit an outside shot. He couldn’t defend. But all of that went away because of his work ethic. Kobe saw that as a pinnacle that he had to reach, and he took it to a whole new level.”
After his 2000-2002 three-peat with The Lakers, O’Neal and Bryant had a famous falling out, and Jackson pointed to their personalities as a cause.
“Shaq had a clown role he had to play,” he said. “So that was part of the rift.”
Source: ftw.usatoday.com
