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'Big Shamrock' eyeing more championship runs
Source: Agencies |
August 12, 2010, Thursday
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WHEN Shaquille O'Neal was much, much younger and a good deal smaller, too, he chose as a role model one of the most successful big men in NBA history.
"When I came into the league, I wanted to compete with Bill Russell for titles," O'Neal said with Russell's 11 championship banners hanging above him at a news conference to mark his signing with the Boston Celtics. "That's not going to happen, but I'd like to almost get half of what he got."
With four titles and a Hall of Fame career already on his resume, newly christened "Big Shamrock" signed a two-year deal with the Celtics at veteran's minimum, forgoing more lucrative offers to join the defending Eastern Conference champions for a run at another championship or two.
A crossover celebrity who has appeared in feature films and his own TV show, O'Neal joked about his new nickname, his fear that his kids will develop a Boston accent and trying to beat new teammate Glen "Big Baby" Davis in a chowder-eating contest. But he was serious about his legacy.
"Do I have the same hunger? Yes. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here," O'Neal said.
"I don't like wasting my time. I don't like wasting anybody's time. At the end of the day, when I close the book, it's all about winning."
The news conference to introduce O'Neal wasn't the usual type for a backup, 38-year-old center who will be paid about US$1.3 million a year. There were a dozen TV cameras, perhaps 50 reporters in all and a couple hundred beaming schoolchildren in the bleachers, taking a break from their basketball camp next door.
Also in the gym: Kevin Garnett, who promised O'Neal he would fly back from Hawaii to be there.
"To me this is a very exclusive event," said O'Neal, who wore a gray pinstriped suit and a black bow tie. "It's my last (introductory) press conference. I just wanted to be very, very sharp."
Now weighing 156 kilograms, O'Neal averaged 12 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Cavaliers last season, when he was brought to Cleveland in the hopes that he would be the missing piece that would help LeBron James win his elusive NBA title. He also missed almost two months of the regular season after injuring his thumb against the Celtics.
"I told him there won't be 30 minutes (for him) on this team; there will be 20-25," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I asked him if that would be OK, because that's the only way it's going to work."
And it was OK with O'Neal.
"When I came into the league, I wanted to compete with Bill Russell for titles," O'Neal said with Russell's 11 championship banners hanging above him at a news conference to mark his signing with the Boston Celtics. "That's not going to happen, but I'd like to almost get half of what he got."
With four titles and a Hall of Fame career already on his resume, newly christened "Big Shamrock" signed a two-year deal with the Celtics at veteran's minimum, forgoing more lucrative offers to join the defending Eastern Conference champions for a run at another championship or two.
A crossover celebrity who has appeared in feature films and his own TV show, O'Neal joked about his new nickname, his fear that his kids will develop a Boston accent and trying to beat new teammate Glen "Big Baby" Davis in a chowder-eating contest. But he was serious about his legacy.
"Do I have the same hunger? Yes. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here," O'Neal said.
"I don't like wasting my time. I don't like wasting anybody's time. At the end of the day, when I close the book, it's all about winning."
The news conference to introduce O'Neal wasn't the usual type for a backup, 38-year-old center who will be paid about US$1.3 million a year. There were a dozen TV cameras, perhaps 50 reporters in all and a couple hundred beaming schoolchildren in the bleachers, taking a break from their basketball camp next door.
Also in the gym: Kevin Garnett, who promised O'Neal he would fly back from Hawaii to be there.
"To me this is a very exclusive event," said O'Neal, who wore a gray pinstriped suit and a black bow tie. "It's my last (introductory) press conference. I just wanted to be very, very sharp."
Now weighing 156 kilograms, O'Neal averaged 12 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Cavaliers last season, when he was brought to Cleveland in the hopes that he would be the missing piece that would help LeBron James win his elusive NBA title. He also missed almost two months of the regular season after injuring his thumb against the Celtics.
"I told him there won't be 30 minutes (for him) on this team; there will be 20-25," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I asked him if that would be OK, because that's the only way it's going to work."
And it was OK with O'Neal.
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