PhilShaq

I guess deflating game balls is an age old trick that some of us on the outside looking in, have no idea about. Apparently it has been going on for years now and not just in football. Shaq and Phil Jackson admitted that they have used deflated basketballs in the past. Click more to check the full story!

With all the controversy surrounding Tom Brady and the New England Patriots for their recent “Deflate Gate” Scandal, people have been coming out of the woodworks chiming in on the subject. Tom and New England have since been punished for their ACC Championship game antics but figures from other sports admit to using the same tactics.

One of the most prolific centers to ever step into the NBA, Shaq, admitted in an interview that he used deflated basketballs. Shaq talked about deflating basketballs but did not see it as cheating, “Sometimes, in the games during all my championship runs, if a ball was too hard, I let air out…but I wasn’t doing that for cheating purposes. I just needed the extra grip for my hands so I could palm it.” In this same interview, Shaq said he would have a “friend” hold needle for him and once he found that a game ball was too hard, he would let the air out. LOL! It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught, I guess.

Shaq’s old coach, Phil Jackson, said he did the same thing while he was playing as well. Much like Shaq, Phil Jackson said he and other team mates would often carry around pins/needles to let air out of balls that they found to be too hard. ALL THOSE CHAMPIONSHIPS! I’m sure it didn’t affect their win/loss % but it just makes you think about what could be going on today in the league today. Shaq is just a few years into retirement, so I imagine that some rituals are still taking place.

@copacetic_LB

Source: USA Today