“He had a passion to succeed, and he had the kind of personality that made him a joy to coach.” – LSU Coach Dale Brown

In the realm of professional sports there are two primary types of athletes: those born of such gifted athletic talents and natural ability, and then there are those that are born with the mental grit and cerebral toughness to thrive in all competitive athletics.

In the curious case of Shaquille O’Neal we have a freak abundance of both physical dominance as well as a highly publicized and unrivaled mental game of basketball.

For nearly 20 years Shaquille O’Neal brought his brand of basketball psychology to the professional court and blazed a legendary trail into history books with unique mental toughness in basketball. A 4-time league champion, decorated multi-game All-Star, league MVP, Olympic athlete, and professional basketball Hall of Fame inductee, Shaquille O’Neal – or ‘Shaq’ for short – embodies several prominent aspects of modern sports psychology for basketball that are both natural to his charismatic personality as well as learned through his adverse upbringing.

Through his basketball relationship with LSU coach Dale Brown Shaq actualized his true potential, going from a tall, lanky, unsure pre-teen to the very upper echelons of the professional sports world with his mental game.

“I don’t know how it is for your earthlings, but where I’m from, strength is mental.” – Shaq

When Shaquille O’Neal first met Dale Brown on a basketball court in West Germany the future professional basketball Hall of Famer was hardly the epitome of basketball mental toughness. He was unsure and seeking advice for college, which was still a number of years ahead in the future.

With Shaq’s intimidating size the LSU coach mistook Shaq for an armed force serviceman, not the inquisitive 13-year old that he truly was. Coach Brown became a mentor, friend, and pen pal as Shaq began his quest towards professional basketball via his legendary high school days in San Antonio, Texas.

Having recognized a true friend over the years in Coach Brown, Shaq took his basketball skills to LSU and forged his own unique mental game in basketball to reinforce his physical game, allowing the adversity of not growing up with his biological father in his life and his immense athletic talents to fuel his mental game.

As college shaped and molded his game and his dual physical-mental toughness in the sport, Shaq readied himself for the inevitable ascension to the bright lights of the professional basketball world.

“I’m like the Pythagorean theorem. Not too many people know the answer to my game.” – Shaq

As Shaq exploded onto the professional basketball scene in 1992 his mental game in basketball followed, and post-game quotes like the one above became commonplace for the otherworldly center.

The curious case of Shaq teaches us that adversity, focus and confidence can fuel your basketball mental toughness, and when combined with physical talent can put your game over the top of competitors.

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