Shaquille O'Neal Quotations

Me shooting 40% at the foul line is just God's way to say nobody's perfect.

When you're in championships, it's never about what you do. It's always about what other people do.

The best quality about Kobe Bryant? You want me to be honest? I don't know. I'll tell you why. I open my arms to everybody. But he never stepped forward for the embrace. So I never really got to know him. I don't know anything about him, and it's kinda sad.

We live in an impatient world. Everybody is always looking for the next big Kobe, the next big LeBron, the next big Twitter.

David Stern should get with the mothers of the NBA and let the moms decide what the dress code should be. I asked my mother if I could wear a chain, and she told me yeah. So I do stuff that my parents allow me to do.

Can I go one day without somebody saying something negative about me?

I love race car drivers, I love gymnastics, I love UFC, I love police officers, I love firefighters. I just try to give them the same enjoyment they give me.

Everything happens for a reason. I'm used to it, I prepare for it. Like I say, at the end of the day, those in charge of their own destiny are going to do what's right for them and their family.

I never worry about the problem. I worry about the solution.

There is no answer to the Pythagorean theorem. Well, there is an answer, but by the time you figure it out, I got 40 points, 10 rebounds and then we're planning for the parade.

Because I'm so big, you have to look at me. I think of myself as a monument. But sometimes I like to feel small.

For all my friends in the media who like quotes, mark this quote down. From this day on I'd like to be known as 'The Big Aristotle' because Aristotle once said, 'Excellence is not a singular act; it's a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.'

I want to be strong, dominant. Like Wilt Chamberlain.

I am the number one Ninja and I have killed all the Shoguns in front of me.

My father made me who I am. He gave me a basketball and told me to play with the ball, sleep with the ball, dream with the ball. Just don't take it to school. I used it as a pillow, and it never gave me a stiff neck.

I started out as a football player. I liked to inflict pain. In basketball, it was the same thing.

And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is a famous basketball player. I want to really learn the business.

I don't get nervous in any situation. There's no such thing as nerves when you're playing games.

Nobody's going to tell me how to be different, so stop asking me. Stop asking me what two-plus-two is. Everybody knows two-plus-two is five.

I'm very educated and can give you somewhat of a vocabulary, but I don't get to the philosophical side.

Generals don't panic; then the troops never panic.

Being here feels like I'm out of prison. This is the right place, the right time, the right team.

When I get old, I'm going to the old folks' home. I don't want to be one of those guys who's hanging around the house bothering the kids. But not just any old folks' home. I want the whole top floor.

If I were a painter, you'd be calling me Shaqcasso.

I'm like tax. You're going to pay one way or the other.

Our offense is like the pythagorean theorem: There is no answer!

Art is a process of delivering or arranging elements that appeal to the emotions of a person looking at it. It's what you feel.

If you got the game, you got the game. That's why Tiger Woods is out there playing golf with Greg Norman.

When I tweet, I try and accomplish three things. One, is to make you laugh. Two, is to inform you. Three, is to enlighten you. That's all I do.

I want to be known as 'The Big Shakespeare.' It was Shakespeare that said, 'Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them.'

I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok.

I'm an unorthodox type of guy, a funny guy - at least I think I'm funny. And one of the things I like to do is come up with nicknames for myself.

I'm a weird big guy. Doing rapping, doing movies. Do a lot of stuff. But always do things the right way.

As a youngster, my mother and father always drilled into my head having something to fall back on. My father was kind of funny. I'd score 40 points. I'd come home and say, 'Look dad, I scored 40.' He'd never have a smile on his face. He'd be like, 'I saw that move you did. What if you'd hurt your knee?'

I've been playing on Christmas for the last 10, 11, 12 years. So just got to get up early with the babies, and give them their toys and try to get a nap in and just come to play.

I was a medium-level juvenile delinquent from Newark who always dreamed about doing a movie. Someone said, 'Hey, here's $7 million, come in and do this genie movie.' What am I going to say, no? So I did it.

Look up the word role in the dictionary and you'll see it means playing a part. That's why I call myself a real model.

When you're righteous, you don't have to tell people that you're righteous.

I had an awful first quarter but I picked it up. To all you single guys out there, it's not how you start the date, it's how you finish it sir. A lot of people can, you know, start the date with flowers and candy, but if you don't finish the date - you know what I mean?

Every time I do something silly, it comes off really funny because it's natural.

I knew I was dog meat. Luckily, I'm the high-priced dog meat that everybody wants. I'm the good-quality dog meat. I'm the Alpo of the NBA.

Kids can still call me Shaq, but adults should call me Dr. O'Neal.

Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else.

Whenever I see a celebrity that comes to watch me play, I'm going to do for them the same thing they've done for me - bring them some type of joy.

I put a lot into it, and when I am done playing, I plan on going undercover and then being the sheriff or chief of police somewhere, either Miami or Orlando, I don't know yet.

I'm on a mission. And I know the older I get, I may lose a step or two, but it's all up in the medulla oblongata. I've got a lot up there. I've got a lot of knowledge... in this medulla oblongata.

I started out as a young Ninja and killed all of the Shoguns. I am a Shogun now and I'm holding my spot. There probably won't be another Shogun after this.

That is why one day I said my game will be like the Pythagorean Theorem - hard to figure out. A lot of people really don't know the Pythagorean Theory. They don't make them like me anymore. They don't want to make them like that anymore.

We're just going to come out and play. We know that we're supposed to win all the games, but if we don't, we just have to take the next game and focus on what we did wrong in the game before and just try to do better at the next game.

Why don't you bring your face up here and let me punch it? Then you can tell me (if I'm stronger).

I don't believe that I personally have been changed by the money. The bad thing is people assume you've changed because now you have money.

This is a tough game. There are times when you've got to play hurt, when you've got to block out the pain.

Challenge me. Treat me like a game of checkers and play me. That's all I'm asking, just play me. Treat me like Sega and play me.

I guess people think the taller you are the more dominant you have to be.

But, hey I did everything the right way and earned my spot in this game, nothing was given to me.

I was fortunate enough to see and handle and take in everything I could while I was playing.

I would like to be refered to as 'The Big Aristotle'.

I'm done with the nicknames. Actually, when I obtain my doctorate, I will not allow people to call me Shaq anymore, either.

I've always been a leader. Every team I've played on, I've led my way.

My job has always been to entertain people. I want people to laugh.

We want to win. We want to win big. We want to win the whole thing.

When I'm done playing basketball, I want do something bigger. I'm working on my doctorate right now at Barry University in Florida.

When you flop, that's just another message that you don't know how to play me. Stand up and take your medicine like a man.

But that is the only thing that slows me down is the system. No one, two or three was big enough to slow me down, only the system. It was the system that slowed me down to make my numbers fall. Not because I am older.

I'm very excited about my new agreement with the Heat. This contract allows me to address all of my family's long-term financial goals while allowing the Heat the ability to acquire those players that we need to win a championship.

I play against a front and a back every night, Ming does not have to do that, Duncan does not have to do that, Garnett doesn't do that. I am the only one that has to do that.

Donald Trump is a great friend, and he has four or five Picassos on his plane. And that's where I would look at them.

I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money.

I average 25 with three guys on me and they are just looking at stats I guess.

I don't know anything about cars. I can promise you that.

I've met a lot of artists who wanted to paint me. LeRoy Neiman was one. He did it from a photograph. He made 20,000 copies, and we sold them all.

We know when we have a performance like that most of the time we're going to hear it.

We're having too many fundamental mistakes. We need to learn how to overcome those.

I was running the court very well, getting the ball and making the aggressive move. I'm still missing two or three jump hooks that I don't usually miss. I'll get it back.

I would say Detroit, Indiana, Cleveland, Jersey, darn near every good, solid team in the East. The Lakers, I think it's more of a TV-rating rivalry than a real rivalry. If we could both make it to the Finals a couple of years in a row, then it could be a real rivalry.

I got into foul trouble early and never got into the flow of the game. The foul trouble is very frustrating, and I knew when I saw (referee) Bob Delaney I was going to be in trouble anyway. We did still have chances to win the game; we just made mistakes you can't make in this building.

I felt pretty good. I just wanted to get my guys going -- bring some energy and spirit to the lineup.

I feel we made too many mistakes, especially down the stretch. We gave too many of their shooters open looks.

For this incident, I don't want to be credited as an individual who does police work. I want to be credited as a Miami Beach police officer.

He had done something dirty, and he knows what he did so when he flopped I tried to hit him in the face with the ball.

I was a medium-level juvenile delinquent, class clown. And she would just say, 'Shaquille, that's not nice.' She was great to me.

It is just a little old fashion Texas beat down. They were three steps ahead of us. They had more energy.

Right now sometimes we're doing it, sometimes we're not. We just have to develop some consistency.

I think he's the true definition of a great player and you guys should recognize that. I think the recognition of a great player has been lost the last 10, 15 years.

My comments were made out of frustration in the heat of the moment. But I realize that my choice of words was inappropriate and again, I would like to apologize.

We have a new leader, and we just have to go out and get the job done.

I'm always ready for a change. I'm Irish. I'm a leprechaun.

It matters in a fatherly way.

When we keep fighting, we're a hard team to beat. Now we just have to take that and bottle it up.

We wanted to power the ball inside. We did that and the whole team played good tonight. We played good defense. The team is playing pretty well right now.

We just need to develop some type of consistency.

It was very frustrating. However, I knew when I saw (official) Bob Delaney out there it would be trouble. You just can't make the mistakes that we did and win in this building.

They're a very young, energetic team. They play with a lot of poise, a lot of enthusiasm. And it's something we have to be prepared for. And we will be. It'll be a good test for us. We respect our opponent very much, but we'll be fine.

It was a shock to me. I found out when (the media) found out. I didn't know what was going on. Stan came in and talked to us and told us his reason for stepping down and we have to accept that.

It's the same story against teams like this. We can't afford to make silly mistakes like that.

It's good that the proceeds go to where they go, but we have great fan support here, so we just want to give them a good show. Of course, it's not the Finals, so we're not going to go one million percent, but we might go 850,000 percent.

That's the first time in history somebody has four offensive fouls before he has a defensive foul. They just need to be consistent in how they call the game. And it all starts at the top, when you got a guy like Stu Jackson running stuff, it's obvious why the referees are the way they are.

It's very, very frustrating. But we still had our opportunities to win the game. We just made too many mistakes, mistakes you can't make in this building.

I want to congratulate Phil on returning to coach the Lakers. He is one of the premier coaches. I wish him the very best.

I want to congratulate Phil on returning to coach the Lakers, ... He is one of the premier coaches. I wish him the very best.