“My dream for Shaq was for him to be the best of all time. That wasn’t his dream” – Ex-Lakers trainer Gary Vitti recalls struggles of trying to get Shaquille O’Neal to work hard
Former Lakers trainer struggled to push Shaq to work harder and believes he could’ve been the greatest.
Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t always the gym rat or the workaholic type of player during his active years. Back in the early days of his NBA career, especially during his run with the Los Angeles Lakers, that relentless drive hadn’t quite kicked in yet.
Former Lakers head athletic trainer Gary Vitti saw it firsthand. He spent over three decades on the sidelines, taping ankles and witnessing legends rise — and stall. But no player tested his patience more than the 7-foot-1, 325-pound enigma in purple and gold.
Lack of work ethic
O’Neal had the size. He had the dominance. But for Vitti, there was always one thing missing: urgency. For players like the center, Gary became part motivator, part therapist, part disciplinarian. He knew what greatness looked like and he believed “Diesel” could’ve rewritten history if he had simply pushed harder.
“Your dreams are yours, they’re not mine or anyone else’s,” the long-time athletic trainer said. “My dream for Shaq was for him to be the best of all time. That wasn’t his dream. That’s a problem when you want something from someone more than they want for themselves.”
The four-time NBA champion didn’t need to work harder to dominate, at least that’s what he believed. At his best, he was an unstoppable force, averaging 29.7 points and 13.6 rebounds in the 1999–2000 season. That year, he won the league MVP and launched the Lakers into a new dynasty.
Still, Vitti saw it all as a what-could-have-been. Because even as “The Big Aristotle” brought home three straight NBA Finals MVPs from 2000 to 2002, Vitti believed he was only scratching the surface.
The daily grind never seemed to call to O’Neal the way it did for others. Vitti, who had worked with workaholics like Magic Johnson and saw the tireless habits of Kobe Bryant firsthand, often found himself pleading for more from the center. But effort, like ambition, can’t be borrowed. And no one — not even a veteran trainer with championship rings to show for it — can make another man want greatness for himself.
O’Neal’s dream
Shaq and Kob’ won titles together, but the uneasy friction between them was no secret. Part of it came from a difference in personality. But a deeper rift sat in their attitudes toward work. Bryant lived in the gym. O’Neal lived for the moment. And that contrast burned quietly under the surface of their three-peat.
Just like Vitti, “Mamba” lamented “Diesel’s” lack of discipline, saying he could have been the greatest and won more rings together if he had his work ethic. The Lakers did win big, sure. Three championships in a row is no small feat. But there’s still a lingering “what if” around those early-2000s teams.
Yet for all the criticisms, Vitti doesn’t carry bitterness. With time came understanding. And while he still believes O’Neal underachieved by basketball standards, he now sees the larger picture.
“Shaq’s dream was to inspire young people to follow their dreams and to be whatever it is that they want to be,” Gary said. “And he has done that… As much as I thought that he underachieved on the court … he could have been the greatest of all time.”
Today, the LSU product is more than a Hall of Famer. He’s a media icon, a businessman, a voice in culture and a towering figure off the court. For Vitti, it’s the intangible legacy that counts. The legendary big man may not have chased greatness the way some expected, but he touched millions by staying true to himself, even after his playing career.
