Video: Listen and Hear Advice

In the above video, Shaquille O’Neal explains why he feels he can criticize former Houston Rockets star James Harden. In essence, Shaq is discussing accountability and believes Harden made the same mistakes and excuses he once did during his long career.

Shaq used to believe it was never his fault. It was always that of the people around him, their failures, their inability to deliver in the clutch. Finally, his father set him straight — giving him the truth, convincing him to look inward, to not blame others, to be accountable to yourself first. When Shaq initially received this message, he was in denial, but he later came to understand and appreciate his father’s heartfelt wisdom.

Harden, in his first interview with his new team, the Brooklyn Nets, called himself "an elite player, an elite teammate and an elite leader." There is no doubt about the former, but whether he’s an elite teammate or leader is up for debate. With his current mentality, the advice that Shaq shared will fall on deaf ears. Harden already believes he has competed at the highest level even though his teams have never won a championship. In his mind, the numbers are all that matter. Bill Russell, the Hall-of-Fame former Boston Celtics player and coach, once said, “Professional players are not paid to play, they are paid to win.” If you play well and your team loses, does that make anyone feel happy or content, though? It shouldn’t.

With age comes wisdom, and if we reflect on Russell’s words, perhaps we will stop being so enamored with ourselves and do more self-reflection. When we look back on our lives, we often wish we would have behaved differently, that we had heard, and more importantly, listened to advice from people with experience. When someone offers to help and cares enough to speak the truth, then we should care enough to hear those words and not wait until we’re older to finally say, “Yeah, I should have listened.”

There’s a good chance that’s what Harden will do. Let’s not follow his path.

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