Shaquille O’Neal’s dive was just silly

March 10th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

There are those who complain about the the NBA in loud groans (every time I visit my girlfriend’s hometown, which is a full-fledged all-college-basketball haven, I am exposed to a few such people), and beyond all, the one complaint is hustle. “No one hustles.” “No one cares.” “Look at them out there — everybody’s loafing!” And so on.

For once, I actually find myself on the weird inverse of this argument: I’d like Shaq to stop hustling so hard. At least on the above play.

First of all, Shaq’s going to hurt himself. He’s injury-prone anyway; does he really need to be flying into the third row? Second, and I don’t want to be a curmudgeon on this, but if that wasn’t the most self-aggrandizing leap into the stands you’ll ever see, I don’t know what tops it. Shaq actually picks up steam as he moves into the crowd, which is usually not how those things work. I know big men carry their momentum with them. They just don’t carry it that far, is all.

Why am I mildly annoyed by this? Not sure. It’s probably because the Shaq trade ruined the Suns. Or because I haven’t had my caffeine yet today. Maybe all of the above.

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3 Responses to “ Shaquille O’Neal’s dive was just silly”


  1. Nala
    March 10, 200812:27 pm

    Did you happen to notice the 2 kids that were right in front of him when he jumped? Had he not used more speed then he would have hit them. By going as fast as he did and jumping the way he did he avoided them all together. I was actually at the game and not that far from where shaq made the dive. If you have ever played basketball and made a hustle play like that into the stands then you would know that you only have a split second to make a decision on trying to avoid hitting people. I’d he did pretty good!

  2. se7en
    March 10, 20081:10 pm

    One of the most appealing things about Basketball is the passion and determination that drives players to do anything possible, in order to win. I love it. That’s why I love College Basketball so much. I love the tears from the losers, the celebrations of the winners, but most importantly, their effort and passion during the games, which makes the game as entertaining as possible.

    I think it’s great that Shaq displayed that kind of effort - Okay, a cost-benefit analysis might say it was silly, but what drove him to do that is the greatest of all.

  3. Draft King
    March 10, 20083:33 pm

    Shaq reminded me of someone doing a dive at a lucha libre wrestling show. We (as in my crew and I) laughed about Flying Shaq being a move out of Shaq-Fu while watching the game last night.

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