Shaquille O'Neal Says He Used Same Motivational Tactics On Young Dwyane Wade As Kobe Bryant

O'Neal was fortunate to play with Wade and Bryant when they were both young players

Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade were one of the greatest duos during their time together with the Miami Heat but it didn’t come easy.

When O’Neal was traded to the Heat from the Los Angeles Lakers, Wade was young and without won a championship. With three titles, O’Neal pushed Wade by using the same tactics he did with a young Kobe Bryant when they were teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Me and Kobe, we came in together. Got signed on the same day. So, we had eight years to grow.” Shaq told Esquire, “I’m going to the Heat, I’m an older player, I ain’t got time for these psychological games”.

O’Neal continued saying, “What I learned to do with Kobe is, you get him mad, he plays on a different level. I knew that from the days we used to call him ‘Showboat’. I knew exactly what I was doing. Because I was the first one to see the kid when he was 18 years old. And I saw that he wanted to be great.”

Even though tension later grew between O’Neal and Bryant, the tactics were successful. O'Neal and Wade teamed to win the Heat's first championship in 2006.  

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Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog https://allball30.wordpress.com