Passionate Shaquille O'Neal

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The Lakers' roster for the 2003-04 NBA season is filled with 15 players. Excluding those extras who are just there to fill the numbers and whom Wang Chong doesn't even recognize, the main players on the Lakers, including him, total 12.

The guards mainly consist of Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher, and Kareem Rush.

On the forward line, there are Karl Malone, Devean George, Rick Fox, Stanislav Medvedenko, Brian Russell, Horace Grant, and Wang Chong, who just joined the Lakers in the summer.

As for the center position, although there is only Shaquille O'Neal, forwards like Malone, Grant, and Cook can all play as centers, so there is no need to worry about the team's rotation.

The absolute core of the Lakers for the new season will still be the Shaq-Kobe duo, but during this team gathering, Wang Chong did not see Kobe.

Obviously, the lasting impact of the Eagle County incident on Kobe is still ongoing. He has to keep traveling back and forth to Eagle County and has no time to take care of the team's pre-season training.

"Hello, Wang Chong."

As soon as he entered the stadium, Shaquille O'Neal immediately greeted Wang Chong and walked toward him.

Wang Chong only felt a mountain of flesh approaching him and had to look up.

Wang Chong rarely did this move in the past because his height of 2.09 meters (6 '10") usually made him the tallest player on the court.

But this certainly does not include Shaquille O'Neal.

Standing at 2.16 meters (7'1") tall and weighing 155 kilograms (341 lbs) at the time, Shaq is both tall and strong. Just standing in front of Wang Chong, he exudes a powerful presence.

"This is..."

While Wang Chong was shocked, he couldn't help but think of Rudy Gobert, the future three-time Defensive Player of the Year, who once said that he could defend Shaquille O'Neal to death.

Although Wang Chong didn't believe that Gobert could defend Shaq, now that he saw O'Neal up close, still near the end of his peak period, he became even more certain of his judgment.

With Gobert's slender build, if Shaq applied just a bit of strength, it would be doubtful if Gobert could withstand it. Could he even attempt to guard Shaq?

O'Neal was very enthusiastic, not only taking the initiative to greet Wang Chong but also directly putting his arm around his shoulders, saying to the other players with a smile: "We have Karl, Gary, and now Wang; we're definitely winning the championship this year!"

Wang Chong wore an awkward yet polite smile on his face. O'Neal's excessive enthusiasm made him feel quite uncomfortable.

Shaq patted Wang Chong on the shoulder and continued warmly, "Don't be too tense; I'll look out for you on this team! We'll definitely become the best partners!"

However, upon hearing these words, Wang Chong seemed to realize something.

Does Shaquille O'Neal genuinely like him and welcome him?

Not necessarily.

O'Neal obviously had an agenda.

The first person Wang Chong thought of was Kobe.

As everyone knows, in the 2003-04 season, the conflict between Shaq and Kobe had become irreconcilably acute. The reason the two could still tolerate each other and play together for a whole season was simply to continue their pursuit of another championship.

Therefore, when the Lakers suffered a crushing defeat to the Pistons in the Finals, the entire Lakers team completely fell apart.

Although the regular season has not yet begun, it is clear that the overt and covert struggle between the two stars, Shaq and Kobe, has already started.

Wang Chong's performance in the summer league, beating Anthony and showing amazing potential, was something no one could ignore.

It is evident that O'Neal wants to win over Wang Chong and bring him into his camp to counter Kobe, whose strength continues to grow.

It must be admitted that in terms of emotional intelligence, Shaq is much stronger than Kobe. Even when he later joined the Heat, Shaq modestly declared that he was there to assist Dwyane Wade in winning a championship. At the time, Wade was only a second-year player but already the most popular player on the Heat. O'Neal's low-key approach allowed him to quickly integrate into the Heat team and win a championship in his second year there.

A classic counterexample was when Kobe Bryant, in 2013, high-handedly said to Dwight Howard that he would teach him how to win a championship. This statement made Howard very angry.

Indeed, Kobe had five championships at that time and was an absolute winner, but superstars are proud and arrogant. Who can tolerate your condescension?

Howard was extremely dissatisfied with Kobe because of this. Even after joining the Rockets, he still had fierce conflicts with Kobe in games.

When O'Neal transferred to the Heat, he was the winner of three consecutive championships and Finals MVPs, the strongest center in the league, and a historical superstar. Wade was just a sophomore rookie with no accolades. Even so, Shaq didn't say anything like "Rookie, I'll teach you how to win a championship." He was very smart.

So it's not surprising that at this moment, O'Neal proactively showed goodwill to Wang Chong and acted very warm and familiar.

Wang Chong didn't even need to think about it; Gary Payton and Karl Malone would definitely stand on Shaq's side. After all, they were both recruited by O'Neal, especially Gary Payton. After failing to win the championship in 2004, Payton joined O'Neal again in the 2005-06 season and finally won a championship ring with the Heat, completing his career.

Of course, isolating Kobe is isolating Kobe, but O'Neal also knows that he still needs Kobe's exceptional individual ability to win the championship. Thus, the two would not openly tear each other apart before winning the title.

After the team gathered, the next step was, of course, training.

After a long offseason, many players with poor self-control tend to neglect training, leading to a decline in their competitive state.

Shaq is a typical example. Despite his rare talent, O'Neal is known for being reluctant to train. He often finds excuses to miss practices, and his weight tends to balloon during every break.

This time is no exception. In the physical test conducted earlier, Shaq's weight had obviously increased compared to last season's playoffs. However, facing the weight loss training plan formulated by the assistant coach, O'Neal didn't complain at all.

Shaq could not accept the failure in the playoffs last season. With the team forming a more luxurious lineup for the new season, Shaq feels both happy and under immense pressure. He knows very well what kind of criticism he will face if the team fails again this year.

The biggest difference between Shaq and Dwight Howard, both cheerful and efficient big men, is that Shaq knows when it's time to joke and when it isn't.

O'Neal takes playing and winning very seriously.

At the same time, the Lakers have another more serious and even obsessive player: Kobe Bryant.

Although he missed the first day of training due to unforeseen circumstances, Kobe returned to the team on the second day and was the first player to arrive at the stadium for training.

End of this chapter

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