Former NBA center and 2011 champion Brendan Haywood revealed what it was like guarding Shaquille O’Neal during his playing days.
NBA legendary center Shaquille O’Neal is known as one of the most, if not the most, dominant big men ever.
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Position: C
Age: 53
Height: 216 cm
Weight: 147 kg
Birth place: United States of America
Nobody had an easy time guarding Shaq, and one of the players who had the opportunity to do so was 2011 NBA champion Brendan Haywood.
Haywood revealed that guarding Shaq was a nightmare, and he always hoped Kobe Bryant would go for 40 and not give the ball to O’Neal in the post.
"He’s everything I saw on TV," Haywood said on the Run Your Race podcast. "I hoped Kobe went for 40 so Shaq wouldn’t get the ball…"
Haywood says one time Shaq hit him so hard, he couldn’t laugh for a week.
"He hit me in the sternum once — bruised it. I couldn’t laugh for a week," he said.
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