“In my grandmother Odessa’s lap” - Revisiting Shaquille O'Neal’s comments on his "safe place" in times of chaos, in an excerpt from his book Shaq Uncut

Shaquille O'Neal, one of the NBA's greatest big men, a man of many talents, confessed in his book released in 2011 that his grandmother's lap was his safe place. The enigma that broke many rims and defenses in his iconic career obviously had a life that was worthy of an iconic biography.

In this case, Shaq Uncut, a book co-authored by Shaquille O'Neal and writer Jackie MacMullan, was beyond iconic. It was an intimate glimpse into the life and career of the most dominant center in the history of the league. In his book, Shaq shared his connection to his grandmother. The following is an excerpt from the book:

“Shaquille,” Jackson asked shortly after he accepted the Lakers job. “Where is your safe place?” “In my grandmother Odessa’s lap, while she’s sitting in her rocking chair,” the big man answered. “And how did that come to be your safe place?” “She would find me after I messed up when I was a kid,” Shaquille said. “After I did something really stupid and my father gave me a beating. “When he was done hitting me, she’d sneak into my room and slip me a piece of pound cake and rock me and tell me, ‘It’s okay, baby. Everything is gonna be fine.’ ”

Phil Jackson trained Shaquille O'Neal and other LA Lakers players to go to their safe space

Shaq shared this particular memory while discussing the legendary Game 7 of 2000 Western Conference Finals. On June 4th, 2000 the LA Lakers faced the Portland Trail Blazers in a do-or-die series finale. After the third quarter ended, Lakers were losing the game 71-58.

That is when an anxious Shaquille O'Neal remembered his grandmother and went on to score nine points in the last quarter. The Lakers made 60% of their field goals in the fourth quarter on the fated day while the Blazers made only 21.7%. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant combined for a total of 43 points and 20 rebounds, and the rest is history.

O'Neal's larger-than-life character has dominated public space for as long as one can remember. In fact, he is as indistinguishable from the idea of modern basketball as is MJ, Kobe, or LeBron James. A 15-time All-Star, the self-styled Big Aristotle went on to win four championships in his career.

He is the only player in the history of the NBA to lead the league in field goal percentage for 10 seasons. He is also the only player in the league to win a scoring title without landing a single three-pointer. Everything turned out to be okay for Shaq as predicted by grandmother Odessa.