Shaq's Quotes #1

“I’ve won at every level, except college and pro.”

“I’ve succeeded at every level, except high school and college.”

After winning the state high school basketball championship:

REPORTER: Shaquille, what do you attribute your team’s success to?

SHAQ: I attribute it to me.

CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER: You can count?

“Phil took us to the finals three out of the five years and you want to fire him and want to bring in Mike Krzyzewski? Come on, man. That’s like being married to J-Lo, then dropping J-Lo for a girl that’s 5-10, 480 (pounds).”

(After Game 3 of the 2004 NBA Finals, when the Lakers lost to the Pistons 88-68)

REPORTER: There was a certain part of the game when you were getting the ball down low and you were scoring every time, and then it seemed like you guys went away from that.

SHAQ: Yeah. The story of my life, buddy.

“Remember this—I’m going to bring a championship to Miami.  I promise.”  (In July 2004, right after he joined the Heat.)

“Stay out of the gentlemen’s clubs. Get a lot of rest. Just have fun and relax and stay focused.”  (O’Neal’s secret to road wins.)

“I’ll take 14 out of 15 any day of the week, any week of the month, any month of the year, any year of the century. I don’t know what comes after century.”  (On having the Heat’s 14-game winning streak snapped.)

“I respect the older guys.”

“If I don’t get five [titles], I won’t be happy with myself as a basketball player.  I don’t know how you guys will feel about me.”

“Our offense is like the Pythagorean Theorem.  There is no answer.”

“We’re focusing on the whole pie, not a slice. A slice is good, but it’s not good enough to get you fat. We’re trying to get fat.”  (Probably referring to winning the title.)

“It’s sort of like in the movie The Karate Kid when Daniel said he needed Mr. Miyagi.  And Mr. Miyagi gave him that confidence to believe he really didn’t. These guys think they really need me right now, but they don’t. When I come back, we’ll all need each other to step up our games and do what needs to be done.”  (When asked how his return from injury will boost the confidence of the Miami Heat team.)

“The day I stopped worrying about stats is the day I started winning.”

“Stats don’t matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I’m happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I’m pissed off. ‘Cause I knew I did something wrong. I’ll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game.”

“The stats win nothing.  I’m still sexy. I’m still great.”

On his first championship:
“Why did it happen?  The big dog got fed.  And when the big dog was fed, the little dog even got some meat in there, too.  Big dog owns the domain, but the little dog can go wherever he wants.”

“I’m not worried about facing the Sacramento Queens. Write it down. Take a picture. I’m not going to talk about this all year. When I get back, there’s going to be trouble.”  (Before a game against the Sacramento Kings.)

REPORTER: Let’s just say that a snake bit your mom right here, right in the chest area. Would you be willing to suck the venom out to win the title?

SHAQ: No, but I would with your wife.