Why Shaq Was the ONLY Player That Tim and RJ Were Afraid Of 

Most players would never say it, but if you watched Shaq's career in his prime, you could see it in their faces. They were scared to get in front of him.

Imagine getting dunked on by Shaq then seeing yourself getting destroyed on the post game highlight reel

There must be a therapy group for 7-foot, 6-foul- centers of the late 90's and 2000s. And imagine if Shaq could shoot free throws...

These guys genuinely LOVE basketball and it’s such a joy to see how happy they are just to sit there talking hoops

I love that final point by Legler. He was in a no-lose situation guarding Jordan. Nobody would expect him to defend well against Jordan, so if he can put together a strong defensive sequence, then good for him.

Anyone remember when a young Andrew Bynum got dunked on by Shaq and Bynum ended up with a dunk against him the following possession? Props to Bynum for not being afraid

Shaq stories is golden 😂

Shaq was unguarded, especially in his prime!! As a Nets fans, when he just dominates the whole series!!! I knew we never had a chance. Shaq was freak of nature!!

If Shaq had the ball and casually strolled in the direction of the rim, he'd strike fear into the hearts of any man guarding the net. Big man needs big brakes and chances are, you are the brake.

I've seen game after game, after game, after game... of Shaquille O'Neal. All I have to say is it must've been very very very frustrating to have to guard Shaq.

It's always funny when SAS insists he knows how players feel even when real players tell him he's wrong.

These guys having some of the best basketball conversations ive heard in awhile. Very refreshing

Thankful for this clarity because the non-athlete nba personalities uses “fear” and I never understood it. People fear God/death, not a damn basketball player

Legs' point about getting scored on by a bench guy being worse than by MJ is interesting. Totally get where he's coming from too.

You three have great synergy together!

I think it probably happens more with offensive players being matched up with certain defenders. If you are not an elite offensive player, and you are matched up against an elite defensive player, you may start to question yourself after a few bad possessions. And that is probably as close to fear as it gets out there.

I think when someone says a team is scary they are talking personally as a fan and what that team is capable of doing to theirs, not how the players are feeling.

If Orlando Shaq played against somebody just like L.A Shaq, he would have been scared too😭 even JORDAN said he was afraid of Shaq when he returned in mid 90s

I loved it when Rodman guarded Shaq it was a battle. Shaq won those but Rodman could guard him one on one.

Should ask which refs were they afraid of, like Chris Paul fears Scott Foster.

In the 1960s, NBA players worked at Radio Shack during the summer.

Why are we matching shirts to the light fixtures JJ?

Shaq was surreal. Before people bash him. Keep in mind there are few players we can say that had an impact on the game. Shaq was one of them. Had to change the rims and backboards, how to construct your roster, and very later in his career, the hack a shaq method. Teams needed 2-3 guys just to absorb fouls because no one could guard him. 7’1, 300lbs, nimble, and efficient around the rim. Dude’s drop stop, spin move, and jump hook were damn near flawless. For a dude that big, his footwork was exceptional.

We seen guys for 20 years now make a business decision and get out of lebrons way when he is driving to the paint 😂

Love the show! Semantics guts, ur playing a word game ..., the issue is how you define "Fear" ..., no'wadda'mean?

Shaq has the most underrated peak ever. The only person who stopped Shaq was Shaq.

Remember how Tyler Hansbrough looked at Ron Artest. That was fear 🤣

When Shaq ripped down the whole entire rim in Nets game that was fear. No Respect just fear.

I’m scared of jj’s shirt 😂

Game 1 of lakers and pacers in the finals is the summary of who shaq was. There's no way to stop him.

I think the fear happens in the guys who know they are going to have to be in the post game interview room when it's late in the game and you know you aren't clutch. Maybe not fear, maybe just dread, self-filfilling prophecy kind of thing

I think intimidation is a better word. The aura of "fear" that MJ left i think is better described as losing your composure and focus. Worried that jordan would put you gonna out you on the headlines or that you would say something he takes personally and puts up an above average performance was a real thing. But yeah i think its fair to say thats not fear. Real fear would be getting run over by shaq who specializes in physically dominating others.

You just can imagine Shaq peeing his pants in joy hearing his name get mentioned.

they literally said they weren’t scared of anyone but the other position was

Get some centers from 2000’s in here to talk about the hardest centers to guard

JJ with the stache like Luka LOL

Stephen A needs to watch this

Real hoopers here. Shaq was just a different animal at his size especially Lakers Shaq.

These guys didn’t play against Anthony Mason and Charles Oakley….those dudes were scary!

Whole league feared them Andray Blatche, Agent 0 Wizards though

Luka smiling after making a couple of shots is pretty scary

Represent Tim. These youngsters have no idea what a prime Shaq would do in today's league.

Kevin Mchale said it best. He played one game versus shaq. “Yup it’s time for me retire.”

When Psycho T turned around hype and saw Udonis Haslem… Fear of God

Watching Shaq destroy Dikembe Mutombo was crazy

If you were a good baller. Never scared.. Respect Tho👍🙌💪🙏

Reddick was the best three-point shooter on NBA live 2014 for me 😆🎃😶‍🌫️

Scott Pollard was never the same after playing against shaq

Just watch the Suns bench clear out of the way of Shaq... that was fear there...

Shaq with the Magic could move fast too.

didn’t JJ go off on Steven a Smith when he said players feared LeBron James when Stephen A said they didn’t?

He made mutumbo look like a rag doll

JJ, 2nd video of me asking what your thoughts are on my team, and one of your former teams, the Orlando Magic. Paulo, Franz, and Suggs reminds me of Tatum, Brown, and Smart. But bigger.

Q Rich took a charge from Shaq… man oh man .. I thought he RSVP the bbq in the sky ..

JJ Tim is your father: Maury voice

Maybe because it is just basketball, not MMA. Now over there, you will feel fear of what the other guy might do

03:28 can you pick a side? If that was scary why are you saying there was no fear? I guess fear and being scared are different hey 🤔

as a Magic fan, i feard Jodan

Remember when Yao blocked Shaq 3 times in a row when they 1st played I thought Yao was gonna destroy the whole nba at that time.

Orlando Shaq was big but L.A. Shaq was BIG!!!

Fear is the wrong word, intimidation might have a better argument

People feared getting put on a highlight by iverson and VC

Jordan was a different kind of player, playing in a much more aggressive and physical era. He didn’t just want to win, he wanted to break team spirits and dominate. He would mentally trash talk and verbally abuse opponents so yes, guys were afraid of him. They called him black Jesus… in basketball ball sneakers …it’s a totally different type of experience going against prime Michael.

JJ failed to understand that when a player is so clutch down the stretch that can absolutely induce fear for the opposing player guarding him. Jordan induces that and so does Curry - def not Lebron

Its too many players say they feared Jordan JJ 😂

I just found out legler played in the league lol

headline is not what they said...

Jordan was feared too .

mj boy

Tim has a severely mutated thumb. Never seen one bend backwards like that

Stephen A is going to try to redefine what he means so it fits.

Clearly these guys have no idea what a metaphor is

Tim Duncan the only dude who ever bested Shaq H2H (Hakeem did but I’m not taking that seriously, Shaq was like a 3rd year player)

I meant ..., semantics guys

Legend says Dudley still feels disrespected. 💜💛💪🔥🤣#bigdaddydiesel

Probably the reason jj never “feared” anyone is bc he was a defensive liability his entire career and whatever team he was on they put him on the worst person and they tried to him on defense. 😂

12-Chains Jefferson

Like zion in todays era. 😂 he isn't even 7 footer. Just the kid got strong upper body strength.

If Shaq was 6’6 he would work at the liquor store. But he wasn’t

You know shaq was a monster cause whenever older centers from that era go on podcasts one of the first couple questions theyre asked is always "what was it like guarding shaq" as if it was a war story.

that scared /feared is come from mj and kobe fans to discredit lebron.

but according to jordan fans everyone feared him????

Shaq fear O'Neal

There were players scared of Kobe. They called him a demon. Also there were players scared of Jordan in his time.

Leave it to SAS, everyone “feared” Jordan… like stop it…

JJ. Burn that shirt.

It's more interesting to watch when ex NBA player become a sports analyst... Stephen A.Smith...and his buddy Skip Bayless 🤦😁🫢✌️🫰

This clip is filled with 🧢

Somebody had to be afraid of Karl Malone's elbows. They could turn you ugly (or uglier).

Remember the kg and Isaiah Rider story ? Yea a pure out of respect moment. 😂

I think they are just arguing semantics here, fear and respect are pretty much two sides of the same coin. For example us humans have a long history of fear and respect for the nature that we cannot control

the Kobe stans don’t wanna admit shaq is better all time

there is no fear of physical pain, i mean they are all big men, so they can take some damage, but no one in the NBA is really seriously fighting LOL there's so much money on the line for them to do crazy, go-to-jail kinda stuff. dunno what Steven A is talking about fearing Jordan. fear of pain? Jordan won't fight you. If he does he's got more to lose fear of losing? he's going to beat you anyway like Legler said, so what is there to be afraid about? SAS is full of bs

How is shaq not the goat?

It’s not even basketball against Shaq it’s just rugby.

of course there was fear with MJ. They didn't want to talk to him because he would go off. Typical JJ dirckriding LeBron and the current era. lol., You hear hall of famers talking about how they were scared to even look at him the wrong way.

Stephen a gotta stop with the people feared mj stuff nobody is afraid of anyone in the nba and Michael was 6’6” 210 while Lebron is 6’9” 260 plus like if no one is afraid of Lebron then people were definitely not afraid of jordan.