Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal’s professional career ended back in 2011, but he’s finally opening up about which players dunked on him during his 19-year career.
While speaking during a recent interview, the 7’1” NBA legend admitted only three players ever dunked on him during his pro career, and he remembers exactly how each one happened.
“In 20 years, I only got dunked on three times,” O’Neal said. “Derrick Coleman, Michael Jordan and Tim Perry.”
The interviewer then interjected, “Tim Perry? Was it a breakaway? It must have been a breakaway dunk.”
O’Neal answered, “No, baseline dunk. I went up lazily, and he threw it down on me. … I always wanted to take pride in not getting dunked on.”
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Based on the video footage above, which shows all three dunks, all three dunks occurred early in O’Neal’s career when he played for the Magic.
Coleman, who was the No. 1 pick in the 1990 NBA draft, dunked on O’Neal when he played for the Nets. Six-time NBA champion Jordan dunked on O’Neal during his legendary Bulls career. O’Neal then described how Perry, who played for the 76ers at the time, threw down on the Magic star. O’Neal blames the way he “lazily” went up to defend as the reason why the 6’9” Perry dunked on him.
Only being dunked on three times over the course of nearly two decades in the NBA is quite an achievement. But it sounds as if those three dunks still irk O’Neal to some degree.
