The NBA has become a global phenomenon, but the league’s biggest stars are still American. As the U.S. population continues to decline, what will happen to basketball in America?
The who did shaq hate playing against is a quote from the basketball player Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq was asked who he hated playing against, and he said that Big Country was his biggest rival.
Shaquille O’Neal had the honor of rubbing shoulders with some of the best big players in NBA history. However, it was an unconventional center dubbed “Big Country” who appeared to irritate Shaq the most.
Bryant Reeves, a former center for the Vancouver Grizzlies, only played seven seasons in the NBA. Despite this, he was able to cause problems for the Diesel anytime he faced the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bryant “Big Country” Reeves gave Shaquille O’Neal issues on the court, according to Shaquille O’Neal.
With Shaquille O’Neal on the block, few opposition big men could accomplish anything. Removing him from the paint, on the other hand, increased his chances of success by a factor of ten. At least, that’s Shaq’s version of events.
When guards asked him to “show” as a help defender, O’Neal said on an old edition of NBA TV Open Court that he struggled to rotate back to his man. In the midrange, some bigs could afford to be left alone. Bryant “Big Country” Reeves, on the other hand, is not one of them.
Shaq said that the former first-round draft choice would pick-and-pop him to death on a regular basis.
“Big Country would be 15 feet away, and I’d have to turn around. He wore the worst Duckworth one-handed sweater I’d ever seen. He’d fire it, and it’d always hit the target. So I’m checking at the numbers at halftime: Shaq 15 [points], Big Country 26.”
-NBA Open Court Shaquille O’Neal
Superman’s troops regularly dominated Reeves on paper. Shaquille O’Neal is 12-1 all-time versus Big Country, with the bulk of his victories coming while playing for the Lakers. In those games, he averaged 27.1 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks, while Reeves averaged 11.2 points and 8.3 rebounds.
O’Neal was inflating the figures. Reeves, on the other hand, had his moments against Shaq and the Lakers. In January 1997, Big Country recorded a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, and in March 1998, he scored 24 points against the Lakers.
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Reeves’ career was characterized by “moments.”
Reeves had a short stint in the NBA as a very effective center.
Bryant Reeves is most likely unfamiliar to NBA fans. Yet there was a moment when he seemed to be one of the game’s most promising centers.
Reeves was the sixth overall selection in the 1995 NBA Draft, just behind Kevin Garnett. He was named to the All-Rookie team and went on to average 16.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists over the following two seasons. Reeves’ peak, however, was limited to that.
As a result of persistent back problems, the Arkansas native only lasted three more seasons in the NBA. After retiring from basketball in 2001, he went almost unnoticed, leading Vancouver filmmaker Kat Jayme to track down the former Grizzlies star for a 2018 ESPN documentary titled Finding Big Country.
Despite his brief career, Reeves left an impression on Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq’s difficulties in defending Big Country raises the issue of how he would fare in today’s game.
In today’s NBA, would Shaquille O’Neal be a defensive liability?
On December 22, 2016, during a game between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, Shaquille O’Neal’s number was retired. Getty Images/Mike Ehrmann
In his heyday, Shaquille O’Neal was a dominating and intimidating inside force. In today’s game, he’d undoubtedly be an excellent shot-blocker as well. Would O’Neal, on the other hand, be a defensive liability in the contemporary NBA?
The presence of stretch-bigs on a team’s roster is valued highly. In reality, paint-bound centers aren’t as popular as they once were. Nikola Jokic won the MVP award for his ability to play from the perimeter and stretch the defense. This season, Joel Embiid became a different beast because to his improved shooting. Christian Wood is one of the most attractive big men of the future because to his agility and shooting ability.
To put it another way, the contemporary city appears quite different now than it did 20 years ago. Given how much Shaq hated playing against Big Country, it’s reasonable to speculate that he’d have a hard time keeping up with the NBA’s top big men right now.
Basketball Reference provided the statistics.
RELATED: What Happened to ‘Big Country’ Bryant Reeves, a Former NBA Lottery Pick?
The shaquille o’neal’s wife is a quote from the movie At Halftime I’m Looking at the Stats. Shaq was leading his team, the Orlando Magic, by 15 points with about two minutes left in game. He then scored 26 points during the second half of the game to help lead them to victory over the Washington Wizards.
Related Tags
- big country nba stats
- when did shaq retire
- how tall is shaquille o’neal
- shaq endorsements
