It may be satirically vans that prevented the nice diesel from carrying a New York Knicks Jersey.
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal Admitted as a lot throughout an look on “The Large Podcast”, an internet sequence hosted by the previous Knick Zach Randolph. In a “confession”, O’Neal admitted that New York was on his potential vacation spot record within the midst of his very publicized divorce with Los Angeles Lakers in 2004.
Transport, alas for Manhattan, performed a job in his doable choice to take his abilities to South Seashore earlier than LeBron James is cool.
“After leaving the Lakers, the Knicks had been a competitor, however I circled as a result of I like driving and you may’t drive to New York,” stated O’Neal. “You possibly can’t drive … I’ve two huge vans that will likely be torn in New York … You possibly can’t park them anyplace. There isn’t a area for you on the road.”
On the time of the farewell of California of O’Neal, the Knicks had been led by Stephon Marbury, from Brooklyn, whose arrival of January 2004 in a enterprise with the Phoenix Suns helped to finish a two -year drought. The Knicks had been swept away by the finalist nets of New Jersey in protection within the first spherical, however there was a newly feeling of hope with Marbury and the top coach Lenny Wilkens.
All this and extra, nevertheless, was not sufficient to land O’Neal, who was despatched to Miami Warmth to play with the flourishing celebrity Dwyane Wade.
Curlled by vans, the Knicks had hassle maintaining the momentum alive. Marbury remained fairly coherent however by no means performed one other match in playoffs in a Knicks uniform. Wilkens, who posted a 23-19 file in 2004 after changing Don Chaney, resigned simply earlier than the model midway from the subsequent marketing campaign, giving option to the transient however disastrous period of Larry Brown the next yr.
Whereas O’Neal prospered in Miami, guiding the franchise to its first champion in 2006, the Knicks flouted as much as six seasons with out consecutive qualifiers, a sequence that solely ended when Carmelo Anthony was acquired from Denver Nuggets in 2011.
