Shaquille O'Neal had a simple message for his former team..."/> Shaquille O'Neal had a simple message for his former team..."/> Shaquille O'Neal had a simple message for his former team..."/>
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Shaq to Kobe: ‘If You Still Got Something, You Should Go’

By Paul Bressler

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Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal had a simple message for his former teammate Kobe Bryant on how long he should continue to play the game they love at the highest level.

Don’t give the game up until you have nothing left to give, because once it’s gone, one can never hope to possess it ever again.

Per The Times Picayune:

"If you still got something, you should go because once it’s done you can’t get it back. If I hadn’t got hurt I would have went on and played my last season to try and break Wilt Chamberlain‘s scoring record.But it’s different for a guard because they got control — I’m going to shoot this time. For big guys, it is kind of hard. You’ve got to labor down."

Apparently, O’Neal does not believe in the philosophy of a player holding on too long. One could make the argument O’Neal held on two years too long in an effort to obtain a fifth NBA Championship.

In his second to last year in the league, the Phoenix Suns traded O’Neal (37) to the Cleveland Cavilers on June 25, 2009. The transaction helped the Suns move on from an aging player who was scheduled to make $20 million in the final year of his contract.

Jun 12, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; NBA former player Shaquille O’Neal prior to game four of the 2014 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Head coach Alvin Gentry was also able to speed the team’s tempo back up, and the Suns finished that season with a 54–28 record and a Western Conference Finals appearance.

O’Neal suffered a right thumb injury that required surgery and cost him the last 29 games of the 2009-10 season. He would return at the start of the playoffs, but LeBron James and the Cavilers were eliminated 4–2 by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

O’Neal’s effort to “win a ring for the king” failed, and James took his talents to South Beach.

On Aug. 4, 2010, the Boston Celtics signed O’Neal specifically to help compete against the likes of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum in case they met the Lakers in the NBA Finals again. At that point, the Celtics and Lakers had squared off in two of the last three Finals, each claiming a championship.

O’Neal (38) suffered multiple injuries during the 2010-11 season and missed a total of 45 games that season. An Achilles injury cost him over half (27) of the games he missed.

He returned on April 3, 2011 but played just five minutes before straining his right calf.

O’Neal was essentially forced into retirement due to a Achilles tendon strain that never fully healed. He chose not to get surgery and attempt a comeback that would have been closer to nine months. It would have been his third straight season limited to injury.

Did “Shaq” hold on too long?

It’s possible, but had he retired the first time it looked like he was done, O’Neal would have missed out on his remarkable resurgence in Phoenix during the 2008-09 season. He averaged 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in 75 games that season.

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He was named to his 15th and final All-Star appearance and shared NBA All-Star Game MVP honors with Bryant. The Lakers retired O’Neal’s No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013. Bryant suffered a left Achilles tear ten days later.

In an interesting parallel, Bryant is on the verge of his third comeback in as many seasons following a bit of a resurgence in the 2012-13 season.

It will be interesting to see if Bryant still has “something and if he should continue to go.”

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