Brace yourselves everyone: Shaquille O’Neal has a book coming out. There is no question Shaq Uncut will be filled with entertaining commentary and inside information, but his love for attention should remind us to take anything he says with a grain of salt. This is a guy that will do just about anything to cause a stir and get a few laughs, so if you choose to use his new book as your Bible do so wisely.
Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, Slam Online shared a very intriguing snippet from Shaq’s book with us on Wednesday. We all know Rajon Rondo’s kryptonite is shooting the basketball. The Celtics point guard has had his fair share of offensive explosions by getting to the hoop, but he has one of the worst jump shots in the league for a guard. According to Shaq, President Barack Obama hurt Rondo’s confidence even further back in March and his game got worse.
In early March some of the guys went to the museum of Fine Arts for a fund-raiser and got to hang with President Barack Obama. Everyone was a little bit in awe. The President turns to Ray, points at Rondo, and says, “Hey, Ray, why don’t you teach this kid how to shoot?” Everyone starts laughing.
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KG told me he saw the look on Rondo’s face and the kid was devastated, embarrassed. Dissed by the President, even though I’m sure Obama didn’t mean any harm. Rondo smiled and went along with all of it, but KG told me he could see it in his eyes. It bothered Rondo. It killed him.
The next day Rondo shot the ball horribly. He stopped taking shots after that. He’s so sensitive. I think it was a real jolt to hear the outside perception of a basketball fan who happens to be the President of the United States. It messed with his mind. I’m sure of it.
It seems a little far-fetched, but I guess it isn’t out of the question. Rondo is a player that feeds off confidence and he obviously knows jump shooting is something he needs to improve. It’s possible the comments irritated him so much that he was desperate to prove the President wrong, which made his shooting worse. If Shaq’s telling the truth I think I speak for all Celtics fans in saying, “Thanks a lot, Obama. Go learn how to throw a baseball.”
H/T to Sports by Brooks Live for the story.
