I didn’t watch it, either.

That’s because you’re mature and you’re my age and we have a different mind-set.

Why don’t you retire from basketball? You’ve already won four championships.

I’ve got to pass Wilt Chamberlain in scoring. I would like to win at least one more championship.

I’m sympathetic to that, but why do so many sportswriters seemed miffed that, at 38, you won’t get out of the game?

Now that I’m in a diminished role, everybody says, “He doesn’t have it.” But I will never take criticism from people who can’t do it themselves.

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You mean sportswriters?

Exactly. Now if Kareem comes out and says something, then I have to listen. He’s a guy that’s done more than me. A guy sitting behind a desk writing about what I should do — I will never listen to it.

Do you find it difficult to be an aging athlete?

A little bit. We live in an impatient world. Everybody is always looking for the next big Kobe, the next big LeBron, the next big Twitter.

Do coaches really do anything?

Yes, they do. They’re the generals. Generals don’t panic; then the troops never panic.

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When was the last time you panicked?

1981.

When you were 9?

We were living with relatives, and I just happened to steal a lighter from the kitchen counter. I had a teddy bear. My thing was to just light the tail and then blow it out and laugh. Ha, ha. But as soon as I lit the tail, the whole thing caught on fire. It almost caught the house on fire. I got the whooping of my life.

Where is your dad these days?

He lives around the corner from me in Orlando.

When people say “around the corner” in Florida, it usually turns out to be a 30-minute drive.

Twenty minutes. I get on the highway and go straight, one exit, one left, another left and I’m right there at his house. I see him a lot.

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Do you think you’ll ever be a sports announcer, like Charles Barkley?

Hopefully not. When I’m done playing basketball, I want do something bigger. I’m working on my doctorate right now at Barry University in Florida.

What are you writing your dissertation on?

My topic will be “How Leaders Utilize Humor or Aggression in Leadership Styles.”

You’ve been called the Big Aristotle, among other nicknames.

I’m done with the nicknames. Actually, when I obtain my doctorate, I will not allow people to call me Shaq anymore, either.

What will they call you?

Dr. O’Neal.