Former Celtics: Remembering Shaquille O’Neal’s dominance

February 1, 2011; Sacramento, CA, USA; Boston Celtics center Shaquille O’Neal (36) walks back to the bench during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at ARCO Arena. The Celtics defeated the Kings 95-90. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Shaquille O’Neal spent the final season of his career with the Boston Celtics. The four-time champion played in 37 games for Doc Rivers’ team due to a persistent Achilles tendon injury that limited his time on the court. During those 37 games, O’Neal averaged 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. However, earlier in his career, O’Neal was arguably the most physically dominant player ever to grace the hardwood.

During a recent appearance on “The OGs” podcast, Mike Miller discussed his experiences playing against O’Neal throughout their careers. The veteran forward, who suited up for 1032 regular-season NBA games, admitted that he struggled to deal with O’Neal’s size and strength.

“Shaquille O’Neal, the most dominant big I’ve ever seen,” Miller said. “We had a defense for him, like we had the defense for him, and there was still nothing you could do with it. There was nothing you could do with the Big Fella, that’s it. He didn’t even know he got fouled! Half the time he didn’t know! I hit him so hard one time my arm hurt and I was like ’Damn, my bad Big Fella’, and he goes ‘Did you hit me?’ and I’m like ‘Come on man, get your ass out of here, you hurt my feelings.”

In his prime, O’Neal was the biggest, baddest player in the world. He embraced playing with a nasty streak and would often go through his defender to prove his dominance. Unfortunately, the Celtics never got the opportunity to experience that version of the big man.

Nevertheless, the fact that O’Neal has been out on the NBA for 13 years and is still spoken about with awe proves his dominance throughout his career. Unfortunately, due to the way the NBA has changed, the younger generations won’t know just how dominant he was.