“RIP”: Saddened NBA World Mourns a Legend as Pistons Star Admits His Strong Shaquille O’Neal Advice

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is arguably the most dominant big man ever. It was a nightmare for his opponents to face him on both ends of the court. If a player was not careful, things could soon get ugly as Shaq could embarrass anyone in the low block with his physical prowess. However, there have been few players and teams who have managed to keep The Big Diesel quiet during his prime. One such team was the 2004 NBA champions the Detroit Pistons.

NBA legend Rasheed Wallace was a major reason behind the Pistons’ success. He recently talked about fellow NBA legend the late Cliff Robinson’s advice about going up against O’Neal.

Rasheed Wallace on playing against Shaquille O’Neal

Rasheed Wallace recently gave an interview where he talked about his experience in the league amongst other interesting things. In one instance, the power forward explained how hard it was playing against Shaquille O’Neal. Wallace recounted that after his first-ever game against the Los Angeles Lakers legend, he was knackered and had ice on his elbows, knees, and ankles. As Portland Trail Blazers teammate Cliff Robinson entered the locker room and saw the state of Wallace, the veteran had a piece of advice for him.

According to a video posted by Pistons_Talk on Instagram, Wallace said, “He [Cliff Robinson] said, ‘Hey Roscoe, you can’t be doing that s**t. See you gotta take him out on the wing a little bit you know. You can score out there, you are faster out there, more agile than him on that wing. So take him out there to your world.’”

He stated that he took the advice from the veteran because he did not want to be “iced up” every time he played against Shaq. So the Pistons legend then tried to drag out O’Neal whenever he faced him. Despite this, Wallace was the victim of one of the most iconic plays in league history against the duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaq while playing for the Blazers.

However, it is safe to say that the advice worked when the Pistons shocked the world when they beat the Lakers 4-1 in the 2004 NBA Finals. Notably, the Lakers were coming off a historic three-peat, and many thought they will win the ring for the fourth straight time.

Fans paid their tributes to Cliff Robinson

Cliff Robinson also played for the Detroit Pistons for two seasons before Rasheed Wallace joined them. As a veteran, Robinson helped the young stars on the team. However, he was not part of the title-winning 2004 team because he joined the Golden State Warriors in 2004. After retiring from the NBA in 2011, he passed away in 2020 due to lymphoma at 53. When the video clip of Wallace talking about Robinson’s advice was shared on social media, fans mourned. Here are some reactions:

“Rip uncle cliff”

“R.I.P. Cliff Robinson”

“Uncle Cliffy rest in power”

“Makes sense. RIP to the UConn legend Cliff Robinson”

“Cliff gave sheed the recipe. R.i.P”

“Damn, Uncle Cliffy low-key help start the stretch big with this piece of advice”

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What do you think about Rasheed Wallace’s comments? Let us know in the comment section.