Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest players in NBA history. Some consider him as a top-10 player all-time. His list of accolades are endless, but some include four-time champion, 15-time All-Star, 14-time All-NBA, and the 1999-00 MVP. Listed at seven-foot-one and 325 lbs., O’Neal is undoubtedly amongst the most dominant players that the game has ever seen.
Shaq was on a recent episode of The OGs Podcast With Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller. O’Neal revealed the player’s contract when he was younger that helped motivate him to play basketball.
Shaq Reveals Not Well-Known Player Who Motivated Him To Play
Koncak Received Huge Contract For His Time
You are forgiven if you never heard of Jon Koncak. Not that he was a horrible player as he played 11 seasons in the NBA. Koncak was selected fifth overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1985 NBA Draft out of SMU. Still, career averages of 4.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks from the seven-foot center isn’t going to have Koncak known by those who began watching after his playing career ended.
Many people may have been rushing to Google to find out more about Koncak after Shaq made these comments to Haslem and Miler.
“My father came in the house one day and smacked me in the back of the head with a paper. He said, ‘Look at this,’ and it was Jon Koncak signing for $15 million over three years. My dad said, ‘Football don’t pay like basketball does.’ Then he had two tickets to an NBA game at the bottom of the paper. We went, and I watched. Koncak was in the NBA, and I thought, ‘I can do that.’ That’s when I started to focus on basketball.”
Now O’Neal didn’t get the exact contract details correct. To be fair, the deal he was talking about with Koncak was given to him in 1989, 35 years ago. It was actually a six-year deal worth $13 million. As a restricted free agent, the Detroit Pistons signed him to an offer sheet for that much money. Atlanta decided to match. While that contract sounds like nothing today with the money being handed out, back then it was unprecedented to see a reserve with averages that Koncak had earn that much on a deal. He is still referred to as “Jon Contract” by Hawks fans that were old enough to see him play.
Right Decision To Play Basketball By Shaq
It’s safe to say O’Neal was able to do what Koncak did, he just did substantially more. Shaq also clearly made the right decision to play basketball. According to Spotrac, his contracts totaled more than $286 million over his 19-year playing career. That doesn’t factor in the countless endorsements O’Neal has received, plus the large sum of money he receives from Turner Sports for his work on NBA on TNT. He is still one of the most familiar faces involved in the NBA despite last playing nearly a decade and a half ago.
Shaq’s mentioning of Koncak surely will allow Koncak to become a little more-known by the younger generation that wasn’t around to see him play.
