NBA News: Hall of Fame big man Shaquille O’Neal has pretty much done it all throughout what was a decorated 19-year NBA career. This included a gold medal with Team USA during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
While most players cherish these types of momentous achievements, Shaq recently revealed that he doesn’t know where his gold medal is right now. After all, it would be hard to keep track of that historic memento after the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar decided to throw it out his car window.
NBA News: Shaq Remains Salty Over 1996 Olympics Snub
In a recent episode of his own podcast, O’Neal revealed what led to his decision to throw out his gold medal shortly after winning the Olympic tournament. Apparently, Shaq was infuriated by the fact that he wasn’t able to take part in the final game of the tournament:
“In the gold medal game, (head coach) Lenny Wilkens says, ‘This is probably David Robinson’s last game. So he’s gonna get more minutes.’ I said, ‘Cool, I won’t blame him,'” O’Neal said. “But he didn’t play me at all. I was so pissed, after the ceremony, I drove home in my uniform, and I threw the goddamn medal out the window.”
Shaq threw his 1996 Olympic Gold medal out on the highway 😳
Our new episode ft. @KirkCousins8 is LIVE: https://t.co/UhgaJRCBmm pic.twitter.com/HlQF02WnGv
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) April 3, 2024
Clearly, Shaq did not appreciate getting snubbed from the final game — not even if it was in favor of David Robinson’s swansong.
To be fair, it’s not as if O’Neal was benched throughout the entire contest. He played a team-low five minutes and ended up scoring just two points in his brief cameo. Team USA blew out Yugoslavia, 95-69, with Robinson leading the way with 28 points.
Needless to say, Shaq remains unhappy with that turn of events nearly 20 years later.
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