“In the gold medal game, Lenny Wilkens says, ‘This is probably David Robinson’s last game. So he’s gonna get more minutes.’ But he didn’t play me at all… I was so pissed I threw my gold medal out the car window.” — Shaq 🤯 (via @bigpodwithshaq)
"I threw the goddamn medal out the window": Shaq talks about his rage after the 1996 Olympics
NBAFriday, 05 April 2024 at 03:00
During his career, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal accomplished a lot of things, including winning multiple championships and scoring gold medals at the Olympics.
But one Olympic experience in 1996 didn't end the way that O'Neal wanted and he expressed his frustration in a pretty shocking way.
On the latest episode of "The Big Podcast," O'Neal said that he was so upset by getting limited minutes during the final Olympics game that he tossed the gold medal that he one.
“The Olympic Games ‘96, I played throughout helped them come back, win games," O'Neal said.
He went on, "In the gold medal game, Lenny Wilkens says hey this is probably David Robinson’s last game so he’s going to get more minutes. I say cool, I want to play, but he didn’t play me at all until like the last two minutes. So I got put in the last two minutes, I was so pissed off after the ceremony, I drove home in my uniform and I threw the goddamn medal out the window on I-75."
As shocking as that is, O'Neal says he doesn't regret his decision at all. "I don't, because one, I should've made Dream Team 1, I was pissed about that. So I made Dream Team 2 but that was for the World Games.”
Although some people might be upset to hear that O'Neal lost his gold medal after representing his country so well, it must be remembered that he was one of the biggest basketball stars in the world at the time. Few players were more celebrated than him and he believed that he was entitled to a lot of time on the court. When he wasn't given that, he was rightfully outraged. But was it worth giving up a gold medal?
If anyone travels I-75 regularly, they should keep their eyes open for a lost Olympic gold medal.
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