During the 1994 FIBA World Cup held in Toronto, there was internal conflict among the members of Team USA about their playing time on the court. With the likes of Alonzo Mourning, Dominique Wilkins, Reggie Miller , Joe Dumars, Shawn Kemp, and Shaquille O'Neal, to name a few, head coach Don Nelson admitted that it was hard to handle everyone's egos. Picking a starting five and balancing out rotations were even harder than Team USA's competition in the World Cup.
However, one particular superstar took the initiative to come off the bench, and it was none other than O'Neal . The generational big man knew that coming off the pine for the Dream Team II would benefit not only him but also the team.
" I knew I was the young guy on the block, and I didn't wanna hear no veterans talk," O'Neal said as published on SLAM . "So hey, I'm gonna come off the bench, you guys do what you do, and I'm gonna do what I do. And then I'd come in and change the whole thing."
O'Neal only had one goal
Shaquille, who ironically averaged a team-high 18.0 points and 8.5 rebounds off the bench during the 1994 FIBA World Cup, backed up Mourning , who Nelson revealed the "Diesel" often went up against one-on-one in practice. Despite playing just 17.1 minutes, the big man won the MVP award of the tournament.
Like Nelson, O'Neal realized that he had to give way to the team's veterans. After all, Shaq knew that coming off the bench for the Dream Team II wouldn't stop him from being dominant, and it also didn't mean he couldn't achieve his uttermost goal—to do something spectacular.
" I didn't really go in with the mindset 'Hey, I'm taking over. I'm the new sh*t. Michael left, Magic left…'" O'Neal said. "I never had that, I just always know as a player, as a person, I want people to remember me. There's only one way to make them remember you, and that's to do something spectacular. And that's what I did ."
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O'Neal's arrival
Shaquille definitely did something spectacular by being the best player on The Dream Team II and leading them to a 37.8-point average winning margin throughout the tournament. For context, this was as dominant as the 1992 Dream Team that competed at the Barcelona Olympics. This was pretty much the eventual four-time champion's statement to the basketball world that he had arrived.
When asked what made the Dream Team II special — despite not receiving the same hype as the 1992 Dream Team — Shaq singled out a trait he displayed more than anyone else on the team.
" We were very unselfish," O'Neal said . "I remember one time Joe shot eight times in a row. He hit six of 'em, nobody said nothin'. It was all good. We didn't care ."
Among the plethora of achievements the Los Angeles Lakers legend had in his 19-year career, what is often forgotten is his FIBA World Cup stint, during which he sent a message that he was about to be the best player in the world.
Related: "Dream Team II could've beaten Dream Team I" - Shaq still doesn't think the '92 Olympic squad is the best team ever
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