Q: Are you unstoppable1?
A: I'm unstoppable because I have it in mind that I'm unstoppable. You may take away one or two of my moves2, but I won't let you take away all of my moves. I added my favorite big men's moves to my game. I took Patrick Ewing's power game, David Robinson's spin3 moves, and the way Rony Seikaly4 lifted his knees up when he dunked.
Q: What＇s your favorite shot?
A: The dunk. I'm so big and powerful that it looks like I'm going to tear the ring off.
Q: How much pounding5 do you take from the player who defenses you?
A: I take a lot of pounding, but it's not a problem. Before basketball, football was my game. I used to love to hit and get hit. Now it takes me a couple of days to recuperate6 after games. I have to take ice baths. Phil Jackson told me to just take it easy, so that's what I did this summer.
Q: Did you work on any new skills in he off－season？
A: I worked on my handles, my shooting, and my free throws7.
Q: What do you think gives you the biggest headache?
A: Free throws. I worked on them, but I'm a better practice shooter than a game shooter. Foul shooting is something that I may never overcome. It keeps me humble8.
Q: The NBA will allow zone defenses this season． How will that affect your game?
A: It's going to kill me. They're messing the game up. With the zone, most guys can't get to the hole. They're going to have to shoot raggedy9 jump shots. Fans want to see a Vince Carter windmill10.
Q: When did you know that things weren＇t right between you and Kobe last season?
A: When I was wide open and he wasn't getting the ball to me. He was taking 20,30 shots with three guys on him. He's worked hard on this game and he wanted people to see it. When he sat out nine games due to injury in March and April, he saw how the ball was moving to the open man. When he came back, he fit in right away.
Q: Did you really tell Kobe that he was your idol?
A: Yeah. Last year, I couldn't have done it without Kobe. I wanted him to realize that. My real-life idols are my mother and father. My sports idols were Dr. J11 and Michael Jordan. When I met most of my sports idols, they shunned12 me. That's why I don't like David Robinson. When I asked him for an autograph13, he said no and I was crushed14. When I was playing for Orlando, a kid came into our locker room15 and wanted to meet Penny Hardaway. He asked Penny for a picture. Penny said, “Yeah, hurry up.” The kid was Kobe. He had that same look on his face that I had when David Robinson told me no. I pulled him aside and said, “Hey, you're right, man. Here's a shoe.”
Q: Which of the Lakers＇ two NBA championships was the hardest to win?
A: The first. I had to score 40 points for us to win. Last season, guys like Robert Horry and Rick Fox stepped up. If we do that again this season, we can call ourselves a dynasty16.
Q: If not the Lakers, who will win the title?
A: Probably the Spurs or Portland. But I won't let them beat us, ever.
Q: Do you consider yourself to be a great player?
A: No. Growing up, there were guys I felt were great and I couldn't do the things they did. I couldn't do what Kareen Abdul Jabbar or Wilt Chamberlain or Magic Johnson did.
Q: Were you named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History too early in your career?
A: After being in the NBA for only four years, it was a challenge. I had to step up my game.
Q: Did you cry after winning your first NBA title because of people＇s constant criticism of you?
A: There were a lot of “buts” around my name. “He's a great player but...”People seem to judge greatness on the number of championships you've won. I don't judge greatness on that.
Q: How do you judge greatness?
A: How you play, how you are, what you can do. Karl Malone and John Stockton of the Utah Jazz are the greatest one-two punch17 ever. They'll probably never win a championship, but I still think they're great.
Q: You wear gymnastics tights in commercial． Do you think people might not take you seriously?
A: I invented that commercial. I like to do stuff18 that people will remember. I'm not going to limit myself to one thing. If you give me the opportunity to do a movie, I'm supposed to say, “No, I only want to play basketball”?
Q: Tell me about your new album, Shaquille O＇Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol． I.
A: Making records fulfills my dreams. As a kid, basketball-wise, I wanted to be like Dr. J. Music-wise19, I wanted to be like LL Cool J. The concept of my albums is to rhyme with20 my favorite artists.
Q: Are Coach Jackson＇s Lakers better than his great Chicago Bulls teams?
A: I don't think we match up with them. Phil's Bulls had the greatest players Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman.
Q: When do you want to retire?
A: After I've played between ten and fifteen years. I'm studying law enforcement21. I want to be a sheriff22 or chief of police somewhere.
Q: How do you want people to remember you?
A: As one of the most dominant23 players, I was looking at the NBA record book and was surprised to see I've got one of the leading playoff24 scoring averages. I'm the third guy to be named MVP25 three times All-Star, regular season, Finals in one season. No other team has had our 15-1 post-season record. As long as my name is in the book, they can't take it out.
问：无人能防守住你吗？
答：无人能防守得了我是因为我总在告诉自己我是势不可挡的，你也许会成功地破坏掉我的一两次运球，但我不会让你总得逞。我吸收了我最喜欢的篮球巨星的一些打法，如我学到了帕特里克·尤因的力量型的打法，大卫·罗伯逊的转身动作，以及罗尼·塞克利扣篮时的屈膝动作。
问：什么是你最喜欢的投篮方式？
答：扣篮。我个子高、力气大，扣篮的时候好像要把篮环拽下来。
问：从你的防守对手那儿，你挨过多少击打？
答：很多，但这不是问题。在打篮球之前我是打橄榄球的，我喜欢击打别人或被别人击打。可现在我要花几天从比赛中恢复过来，我不得不洗冰浴。菲尔·杰克逊告诉我悠着点，这个夏天我正是这么做的。
习新的篮球动作？
答：我练习控球、投篮和罚球。
问：什么是你最头疼的事情？
答：罚球。我可没少练习它，但我平时训练总比比赛时做得好些。罚球也许是我永远不能解决的问题，这让我感到无地自容。
问：本赛季NBA将允许区域防守，这会对你产生什么样的影响呢？
答：会要了我的命，他们会把比赛搅得一团糟。区域防守会让多数球员不能突破上篮，他们只好勉强跳投，而观众希望看到像文森·卡特那样旋风般的上篮动作。
问：上个赛季你是什么时候发现你和科比之间的关系不对头？
答：当我无人防守的时候，他不传球给我。有两三个人防守他，他还是投了二三十个篮。他打球很卖力，他也想人们注意这个。从三月到四月由于受伤他当了9场的板凳队员，他看到了球是如何传给无人防守的队员的。他复出后，很快就适应了这种打法。
问：你真的告诉过科比他是你的偶像？
答：是的。去年，没有科比我们不可能取得这样的好成绩，我希望他明白这一点。我现实生活中的偶像是我的母亲和父亲，球场上的偶像是J博士和迈克尔·乔丹。当我见到我崇拜的体育偶像时，他们中的多数人躲避着我，因此我不喜欢大卫·罗伯逊。当我向他索要签名的时候，他拒绝了。我好沮丧。我在奥兰多队打球的时候，一个小孩跑到我们的衣帽间找哈达维，要求和他照张相，哈达维说，“好吧，搞快点！”那个孩子就是科比，当时他脸上的表情同大卫·罗伯逊拒绝我时我脸上的表情是一样的。我将他拉到一边，说，“嘿，你是好样的，小伙子！给你一只他的鞋子。”
问：湖人队的两次冠军哪一次赢得最艰难？
答：第一次。我得为我们队拿下40分才能赢得比赛。上个赛季，像罗伯特·霍利、里克·福克斯这样的球员脱颖而出。这个赛季如果我们继续保持这种势头，我们可以继续当冠军。
问：如果不是湖人队，哪个队将会取得冠军？
答：也许是圣安东尼奥马剌队或者波特兰开拓者队，但我不会让他们战胜我们，永远不。
问：你认为自己是个伟大的球员吗？
答：不，在我成长过程中，有许多我认为是伟大的人物，对于他们我是可望不可及的。我做不了贾巴尔、张伯伦或者魔术师约翰逊他们所能做到的事情。
问：你被评为NBA历史上最伟大的50位球员之一，你是不是觉得这来得太早了点？
答：进入NBA才 4年就受此殊荣，这对我是个挑战。它逼着我奋力进取。
问：因为有人不断地批评你，在你获得第一个NBA总冠军的时候你是不是哭了？
答：提到我的名字，人们总会用到“但是”这个词，“他是个伟大的球员，但是……”人们似乎根据你获得冠军的次数来评价你，我不是根据这个来判断一个球员是否伟大的。
问：你根据什么来判断一个球员是否伟大呢？
答：根据你如何打球，你是什么样的一个人以及你做了什么。爵士队的卡尔·马龙和约翰·斯托克顿是有史以来最伟大的组合杀手，他们也许永远不会获得冠军，但我依然认为他们是伟大的。
问：你在商业广告中穿着体操紧身衣，你是否认为人们会对你不以为然？
答：那段广告是我编排的，我要人们记住我所做的事情，我不想局限在一件事情上。如果我有机会拍电影，难道我应该说，“不，我只想打篮球”？
问：谈谈你的新专辑——《大鲨鱼奥尼尔这样推出他的超级哥们，第一辑》。
答：出唱片一直是我的梦想。小的时候，在篮球上，我想成为J博士那样的人，在音乐方面，我想成为酷J，我出专辑的想法是同我最喜欢的艺术家保持一个调调。
问：杰克逊教练麾下的湖人队是不是比他曾经指导过的芝加哥公牛队更强？
答：我认为我们没法同公牛队相比。菲尔执教的公牛队拥有最伟大的球员，如乔丹、皮蓬、罗德曼。
问：你打算什么时候退役？
答：要等到我打个10年或15年的球。我正在学习执法方面的知识，我想当某个地方的治安长官或警长。
问：你希望留给人们什么印象？
答：我希望人们记住我是一位最具有影响力的球员。我曾查阅过NBA记录册，我很吃惊地发现我是在最后决赛阶段平均得分最多的球员之一，我是第三个在同一赛季三次（全明星赛、常规赛和决赛）当选为“最有价值球员”的人，没有哪个队像我们这样取得15-1的季后赛纪录。一旦我的名字进入记录册，他们就不可能再把它拿下来。
1． unstoppable adj．不可阻挡的
2． move n．运球
3． spin [spin] n．旋转
4． Rony Seikaly （NBA球星）罗尼·塞克利
5． pounding n．重击
6． recuperate v．恢复
7． free throw罚球
8． humble adj．卑微的
9． raggedy adj．粗糙的，没有做好的
10． windmill n．风车
11．即Julius Erving (朱利叶斯·欧文)，美国NBA球星，1950年2月22日出生，他是继张伯伦、贾巴尔之后第三个得分超过3万分的NBA球星。
12．shun v．躲避
13．autograph n．签名
14．crushed 为crush 的过去分词，意为“有挫折感的”
15．locker room衣帽间
16．dynasty n．王朝
17．one－two punch 迅速连击两次：拳击中连续进行的两次快速进攻，尤指先用左拳出击然后立刻用右拳直线重击
18．stuff n．事情
19．后缀－wise, 放在名词的后面，构成形容词，意思是“在……方面”
20．to rhyme with同……押韵，同……保持一致
21．enforcement n．实施、执行
22．sheriff n．美国县级法院的主要的法律执行官员
23．dominant adj．支配地位的，最有影响力的
24．playoff n．(双方得分相等时的)最后决赛
25．MVP即most valuable player 最有价值球员