Within the fast-paced, perimeter-focused world of recent NBA basketball, it’s simple to credit score Stephen Curry, Mike D’Antoni, and even the analytics motion for the three-point revolution. However in a stunning twist, former head coach and offensive mastermind Mike D’Antoni has pointed to an unlikely determine as a catalyst for the rise of the three-point shot: Shaquille O’Neal.
Sure, that Shaquille O’Neal—the 7’1”, 325-pound drive of nature who dominated the paint like nobody earlier than or since, who made his dwelling dunking on facilities and bullying defenders into submission. On the floor, Shaq looks like the antithesis of the three-ball period. He tried simply 22 three-pointers in his 19-year profession, making a single one. However in line with D’Antoni, it’s exactly Shaq’s overwhelming dominance within the put up that pressured the NBA to evolve in a unique course—one that may ultimately result in the three-point-heavy type we see at the moment.
D’Antoni’s Unlikely Perspective
D’Antoni, recognized for his “Seven Seconds or Much less” offense with the Phoenix Suns and his modern use of the three-point shot with the Houston Rockets, has by no means hidden his perception in taking part in quick, spreading the ground, and maximizing effectivity. He was forward of the curve, typically criticized for methods that, in hindsight, formed the way forward for the league.
However throughout an interview reflecting on the evolution of NBA offenses, D’Antoni stunned many by crediting O’Neal’s post-era dominance because the very cause the league needed to transfer away from that type of play.
“Shaq was so dominant that groups had no alternative however to alter,” D’Antoni stated. “You couldn’t beat him taking part in the identical sport. When you tried to go huge and bang within the put up, you had been going to lose. So, groups began spreading the ground, taking pictures threes, and attempting to win with quickness and spacing. It was the one technique to compete.”
In different phrases, the league didn’t evolve away from the put up as a result of it wasn’t efficient—it developed as a result of Shaq made it inconceivable to win that means until you had Shaq.
The Period of Shaq: Dominance within the Paint
To grasp D’Antoni’s logic, we now have to return to the early 2000s when Shaquille O’Neal was essentially the most unstoppable drive in basketball. Throughout his prime with the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaq averaged over 27 factors and 11 rebounds per sport, led the league in subject aim share a number of occasions, and captured three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002.
There was merely no reply for him within the put up. Groups tried double groups, zone defenses, hack-a-Shaq—all to little impact. When you performed a conventional huge man in opposition to him, you misplaced. When you tried to go small, he punished you. Shaq wasn’t simply good—he was traditionally unguardable.
So what do groups do once they can’t battle fireplace with fireplace? They modify the sport.
The Strategic Shift: Preventing Giants with Velocity and Spacing
Confronted with an unwinnable battle inside, many coaches and entrance workplaces started to discover different methods. What if, as an alternative of attempting to match Shaq’s measurement, you merely made him work tougher defensively? What for those who spaced the ground, pulled the large man out of the paint, and prioritized tempo over energy?
Mike D’Antoni took this concept and ran with it in Phoenix. With Steve Nash operating level, Amar’e Stoudemire as a dynamic pick-and-roll risk, and a roster stuffed with shooters, D’Antoni’s Suns pushed the tempo and launched threes at a charge not often seen within the league on the time. They weren’t constructed to cease Shaq—they had been constructed to outrun and outscore him.
“We weren’t going to outmuscle the Lakers or Spurs,” D’Antoni recalled. “However we may attempt to beat them in a unique sport. And it nearly labored.”
D’Antoni’s Suns by no means made the Finals, however they laid the groundwork for a brand new type of play. Different groups took notice. Then got here Golden State, Stephen Curry, and a full-blown three-point revolution.
The Analytics Period Confirms the Shift
Whereas Shaq might have been the reason for the shift, the justification got here later within the type of analytics. As groups started to raised perceive the worth of the three-point shot and the inefficiency of lengthy twos, the perimeter sport took over.
However the analytics didn’t invent the shift—they merely validated a brand new technique to survive. The three-point shot, it turned out, wasn’t only a gimmick. It was a strategic necessity born out of an period the place conventional inside scoring may solely go to date—particularly when Shaq was anchoring the paint.
And as D’Antoni factors out, as soon as the genie was out of the bottle, there was no going again.
“As soon as groups noticed they may win by taking pictures threes, they by no means appeared again. And it began as a result of we needed to discover a means round Shaq.”
Shaq’s Oblique Legacy within the Trendy Recreation
Paradoxically, Shaquille O’Neal often is the largest cause why huge males at the moment are anticipated to stretch the ground. Whereas Shaq proved the ability of measurement, he additionally uncovered its limitations in a altering league. After him, the post-centric huge man all however disappeared. As we speak’s facilities—Nikola Joki?, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Cities—are as snug taking pictures from past the arc as they’re posting up.
And it’s not simply facilities. Groups now construct round spacing and tempo. The nook three is sacred. Ground spacing is non-negotiable. It’s a unique sport completely, and all of it stems from a second when the outdated means of doing issues hit a wall named Shaquille.
The Irony of Affect
There’s an exquisite irony in D’Antoni’s argument. Shaq, a participant who mocked the three-point shot and dominated in a means few may replicate, might have single-handedly pushed the league towards embracing the very type he dismissed. With out Shaq, the put up sport may need remained the dominant technique. As a substitute, the necessity to compete with him created an atmosphere the place innovation thrived.
And Mike D’Antoni, who typically discovered himself on the flawed facet of Shaq-led playoff losses, ended up being one of many architects of that innovation.
“Shaq made us evolve,” D’Antoni stated. “And as soon as we did, the sport modified perpetually.”
Classes in Evolution and Adaptation
The story of Shaquille O’Neal’s oblique position within the three-point revolution is an ideal instance of how evolution works—not simply in basketball, however in life. Dominance in a single space typically forces others to innovate or perish. Shaq’s sheer dominance closed one strategic door however opened one other.
In attempting to unravel the “Shaq drawback,” coaches like D’Antoni unlocked completely new methods to play the sport. It wasn’t about being higher at what already labored—it was about doing one thing totally different. And in doing so, they laid the groundwork for a revolution.
As we speak, groups routinely take 40 or 50 three-pointers in a sport. Guards pull up from 30 toes. Large males are anticipated to shoot from vary. And whereas Shaq himself by no means performed that means, his affect is felt in each possession that begins five-out, each pick-and-pop three, and each lineup that trades measurement for pace.
Closing Ideas
Mike D’Antoni’s credit score to Shaquille O’Neal might sound unusual on first listening to, but it surely makes good sense when considered by means of the lens of basketball evolution. Shaq didn’t simply dominate his period—he outlined it so totally that he unintentionally pressured the subsequent one to start. In attempting to beat him, the league found a brand new path—one paved with three-pointers, spacing, and tempo.
It’s a reminder that generally, the most important innovators will not be those who change—however the ones who drive change by being so good that the established order turns into out of date.
So the subsequent time you watch a three-point barrage, keep in mind: someplace in that flurry of photographs lies the legacy of a 7-foot large who by no means cared for the three-point line, however whose presence made it an important shot within the sport.
