Sports Radio Interviews

The Big Shamrock Chases Another NBA Ring

Last year Shaquille O’Neal was brought to Cleveland to “win a ring for the king.” He didn’t get it done though. Shaq was not able to deliver on his promise as the Cavs were belted out of the playoffs early by the Boston Celtics. After LeBron bolted for Miami, Shaq joined the Celtics and now his goal in 2010 will be to keep the king from getting a ring.

The entire offseason, all the talk has surrounded the Miami Heat and the moves they made this offseason, but the Celtics will not go quietly in the Eastern Conference and could be the team that stands in the way of the Heat’s title run. At last check, the Celtics wore the crown in the East, they have the big three plus one coming back and they made some moves themselves in the offseason. I have to admit, I have no idea how the Shaq move will work and it doesn’t make too much sense to me from a basketball sense. However, the Celtics need an inside force to help them get by while Kendrick Perkins continues to get back healthy from offseason surgery.

Shaquille O’Neal joined WEEI in Boston with Dennis and Callahan to talk about how he is adjusting to life in Boston, whether or not he has settled on his new nickname, why he decided to join the Celtics this offseason, how much gas he has left in the tank, what went wrong last year in Cleveland, what he expects his role to be in Boston this year, and whether or not he knew LeBron was going to Miami.

You’ve settled on the Big Shamrock?

“Yes. The Big Shamrock. Yes.”

Not to get personal with money, but you’ve been making more than $20 million a year for 10 straight years. This year, you’ll make, like, $37,500. Did that change your approach?

“Not at all. I had other options where the money would have been greater. But this franchise, this team, has a tradition of winning. I’ve been one of the luckiest guys in the history of the game. I’ve had four max deals and one lifetime of play. So money wasn’t an issue. Money will never be an issue. Danny Ainge had $1 million left, which was the minimum. If I had to, to come here and play, I would have played for free. Doesn’t matter to me.”

Are you prepared to pace yourself? As the oldest guy in the league, you can’t go out all the time.

“I can. When I go out, I’m very, very 1,000 percent responsible. When I go out, I just sit in the corner and drink water. I don’t drink or smoke. A lot of times, I’ll just go and hang out. My rule has always been to come in by two, wherever I’m at. Doc is real good with the sleep thing. Let’s just say I went out, got home to Sudbury at three. Practice is at 11. Still got six, seven hours of sleep. In answer to your question, yes. My routine is to come here, come to practice, go home, take a nap, then I work out at the Thoreau Club, I think that’s in Concord. I go there and swim and do extra work, then I just go home.”

Would you be offended if Doc told you that you’ll be most needed at the beginning of the season with Kendrick Perkins out, then again at the end, and that you can glide through the middle?

“When I first came into the league, it was all about ‘I, I, I.’ Scoring titles, a lot of points, and a lot of rebounds. Now, at the tender age of 38, it is not about ‘I.’ I have taken care of ‘I.’ I’ve really put myself in the history books. So now, it is all about ‘we.’ It’s all about the Celtics and all about the city of Boston. Doc doesn’t really have to have the conversation with me. He can just tell me what he wants me to do. Whatever he wants me to do, whatever the team wants me to do, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not here to take 30 shots, not here to dominate the ball, not here to play like I’ve been playing. I’m just here to help. At the tender age of 38, I don’t mind doing that.”

Of all the stuff you’ve done, what’s the coolest thing you’ve done aside from winning championships?

“Like I said earlier, I’m one of the luckiest guys in the world. I can remember growing up, my father taking me out. He used to scream, like three names at me, from seven to 12. He always used to say, ‘You’ve got to block shots like Bill Russell. You’ve got to shoot the sky hook like Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]. You’ve got to dominate like Wilt Chamberlain.’ From, like, seven to 10, I was always saying, ‘Who in the hell is he talking about?’ But then as I started playing, then getting into the NBA, and then one day standing at an All-Star game and hearing the great Bill Russell say, ‘Can I talk to you?’ saying, ‘You’re a great player and you need to do this and you need to do that.’ It was lovely. I couldn’t wait to get to the locker room and say, ‘Daddy, Bill Russell just said I was a great player. What do I do?’ ‘Keep it up, dummy.”

What’s your perspective on the Cavs-Celtics playoff series last year?

“Being on the Cavaliers team, it was an excellent team. We didn’t have any problems. We were a close-knit group. I will truthfully have to say that was a year where we just didn’t win it. There wasn’t any problems, like on some teams where a couple guys are bickering. Everybody got along well and we just got up against a hungrier veteran team. We couldn’t win. We had a great year all year. I went down for 15, 20 games, LeBron did a great job of leading the guys, we still had the No. 1 spot, first two rounds, we did well. Then we just faced a team that everybody counted out all year. You can never count out Mr. Garnett or The Truth, because those two guys, when they get mad, they’re unstoppable.”

Did you know that he was leaving?

“No. No. No.”

Listen to Shaquille O’Neal on WEEI in Boston here

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