(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Allsport/Getty Images)
For most NBA players, going to the Olympics is a major honor that they celebrate for the rest of their lives.
For Shaquille O’Neal, however, it ended up being a nuisance.
On the latest episode of “The Big Podcast,” the legendary center said that he threw away his gold medal from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
O’Neal was upset because he didn’t receive any minutes in the final game and tossed the medal out his car window as he drove home.
Somewhere on the highway, there’s an #OlympicGames gold medal out there that belonged to Shaq pic.twitter.com/4pJJAqJrHY
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) August 8, 2024
Prior to the gold medal game, O’Neal was told by Lenny Wilkens that it was probably David Robinson’s last match.
Therefore, Robinson was set to receive more minutes than O’Neal, something that the young player was okay with.
But in the end, O’Neal didn’t play at all and that didn’t sit well with him.
That is what led to him tossing the gold medal, despite how important it was.
1996 was his only appearance at the Olympics, although he also played for Team USA at the 1994 Toronto World Cup.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the only highlight of his historic career.
During his 19 years in the NBA, O’Neal was a 15-time All-Star, a two-time scoring champion, a four-time champion, and so much more.
Today, he is still considered one of the best big men to ever play the game.
O’Neal was an important part of Team USA’s run through the Olympics in 1996 but he obviously didn’t like how the games came to an end.
Somewhere, a gold medal is lying on the side of the highway, waiting to be found.
The post Shaq Has A Wild Admission About His Olympic Gold Medal appeared first on The Cold Wire.