Shaq Talks Back: The Uncensored Word on My Life and Winning in the NBA - Hardcover

O'Neal, Shaquille

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312278454 ISBN 13: 9780312278458

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2001

Synopsis

It's rare to discover a candid sports autobiography-- even rare when the author is one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. But in Shaq Talks Back, Shaquille O'Neal for the first time talks frankly about his childhood, his life, his rivalries, and his career, culminating in a dramatic, behind-the-scenes account of the Los Angeles Lakers' drive to the NBA Championship.

At seven feet one inch tall and 330 pounds, Shaq has always faced outsized expectations, even as a child when he towered over other kids. Shaq Talks Back is the story of how potential became reality-- how someone expected to be a champion finally learned to become one. Beginning with his memory of crying on the court after the Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers, Shaq takes us back to his younger days in Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey, then to Georgia and finally to Germany, where he began to harness some of his height and strength.

From there, he recounts the remarkable progress of his basketball career, changing from a big but inexperienced teenager to a dominant college and professional player. Shaq talks about:

* Playing at Louisiana State University for the unpredictable coach Dale Brown
* Signing the biggest rookie contract ever with the Orlando Magic-- and going to the NBA Finals for the first time
* What happened next: dissention, disappointment, and his decision to leave for Los Angeles
* The dysfunctional Lakers who were never able to win the big games
* Dealing with egos as he finds the right chemistry with Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, and new additions to the team
* Rivalries with Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and others
* The trouble with free throws...
* "Bling-bling" and women: the larger-than-life world of NBA players off the court
* Inside the Lakers' comeback from the brink against Portland and the drive to the NBA championship

Funny, insightful, opinionated, and unexpectedly moving, Shaq Talks Back is the true voice of the NBA's best player.

About this title

About the Author

Shaquille O'Neal lives in Los Angeles. He is the center for the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers and was chosen as the Most Valuable Player in the NBA for the 1999-2000 season.

From Booklist

Shaquille O'Neal, all seven-feet-something, 330 pounds of him, is the dominant player in the NBA today, the man in the middle on the world-champion Los Angeles Lakers. His words draw a crowd because he's a marquee star, but the question, as it always is with sports autobiographies, is whether he has anything to say. The answer is not much. The story of his loving but sometimes harshly disciplined childhood with his mom and military stepfather does provide an explanation as to why, despite a few on-court controversies, Shaq has managed to handle his fame with dignity and humor. Both of those qualities are present here as he recounts his college years, his entry into the NBA after his sophomore season, and the early years in Orlando that included a promising a trip to the NBA finals but ended with acrimony. Now that he's 30 and owns a championship ring, he feels free to talk about fellow players, coaches, and media. A petulant side emerges here (the talking-back part); clearly, Shaq holds a grudge, even against Lenny Wilkens (the all-time winningest NBA coach) who only played Shaq for 43 seconds in the Olympic gold medal game. He's also hard on television commentator Pete Vescey ("That crazy cat will write anything"). In the end, NBA fans, who form the built-in audience for this book, will find it more substantive than they might have expected but without any significant revelations. On balance: a nice enough, very rich young man tells his story with as much panache as he can muster. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0312278454
• ISBN 13: 9780312278458
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 259