The NBA has been buzzing about the unknown player who made Shaq’s team take notice.
Drazen Petrovic was a player who played for the NBA from 1988 to 2001. He is one of the few players in history to have both won an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal. Drazen had a career average of over 20 points per game and he also won three MVP awards.
Shaquille O’Neal is still regarded as one of the best players in the NBA. O’Neal used physical force to impose his will on opponents, leaving them defenseless. However, the Hall of Famer said that Dino Radja, a relatively unknown NBA big man, caused him tremendous troubles on the floor.
Shaquille O’Neal’s NBA career is legendary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmCD OGn-NY
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O’Neal rose to prominence in the NBA after dominating the college scene at LSU.
His sheer stature and power made him a formidable opponent. For numerous years, O’Neal dominated the league, earning acclaim as possibly the game’s most physically powerful player.
It helped him win four NBA championships and three NBA Finals MVP awards, as well as 15 All-Star Game and 14 All-NBA honors and a regular-season MVP award. O’Neal was also inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on the first ballot, and his jersey was retired by the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic.
Despite his physical superiority, O’Neal said that playing against a lesser-known NBA player was difficult for him.
Shaquille O’Neal praised the praises of a little-known NBA legend who caused him fits.
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O’Neal spent almost two decades in the NBA, where he faced up against some of the game’s best frontcourt players in a number of high-profile games.
The four-time NBA champion has faced many difficult opponents, but a handful of the people on his list may surprise you. O’Neal said that former Boston Celtics big man Dino Radja caused him fits on the floor on an episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq in December 2020.
O’Neal added, “I know a lot of tough white males.” “There was a guy called Dino Radja from Boston.”
Radja was a good player in the league during his four-year run with Boston, but his name doesn’t exactly leap off the page. On 49.7% shooting from the field, he averaged 16.7 points and 8.4 rebounds. He is most well-known for his supremacy in Europe.
Radja was designated one of the 50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors and one of FIBA’s 50 Greatest Players. All of this earned him a spot in the 2018 class of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Radja and O’Neal only met 12 times in their careers, including in a 1995 playoff series. O’Neal averaged 30.3 points and 11.8 rebounds on 62.7 percent shooting against him, according to Basketball Network. Radja, meanwhile, scored 21.8 points and grabbed 8.0 rebounds on 54.1 percent shooting.
The former Magic star’s harsh views, however, are most likely based on his memories of playing Radja in the 1994-95 season. The Croatian native averaged 27.2 points and 9.0 rebounds in five regular-season games, shooting 56.6 percent from the field. O’Neal held his own, scoring 27.4 points and grabbing 9.0 rebounds while shooting 65.5 percent from the field.
Radja’s name may not have a tremendous appeal, but he caused defensive issues for a young O’Neal.
Bryant “Big Country” Reeves was also a problem for the Hall of Famer.
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Radja isn’t the only low-profile O’Neal who has been identified as a tough competitor.
Former Vancouver Grizzlies center Bryant “Big Country” Reeves, according to the Hall of Fame big man, created difficult issues.
During an episode of NBA TV’s Open Court, O’Neal claimed, “Big Country would be 15 feet away and I’d have to spin back.” “He wore the ugliest Duckworth one-handed sweater I’d ever seen.” He’d fire it, and it’d always hit the target. So I’m checking at the numbers at halftime: Shaq 15 [points], Big Country 26.”
O’Neal’s teams have a 12-1 record against Reeves in 13 lifetime meetings. He also had the upper hand in head-to-head statistics, averaging 27.1 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. Reeves, on the other hand, averaged 11.2 points and 8.3 rebounds a game.
He did had some impressive performances against O’Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers. In January 1997, he had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and in March 1998, he had a 24-point performance. Reeves’ stats may have been inflated by O’Neal, but the respect element is undeniable.
Shaquille O’Neal Said a Man Nicknamed ‘Big Country’ Proved to Be His Most Frustrating Matchup: RELATED: Shaquille O’Neal Said a Man Nicknamed ‘Big Country’ Proved to Be His Most Frustrating Matchup: ‘I’m looking at the stats at halftime, and Shaq has 15 points and Big Country has 26.’
Watch This Video-
Shaquille O’Neal sang the praises of a little-known NBA player with Hall of Fame credentials who gave him fits. The player was Chris Bosh, who had been overlooked by many fans and analysts in his career. Reference: heaviest nba player.
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