Michael Ventre

There was a reality show on ABC last summer called “Shaq’s Big Challenge,” in which Shaquille O’Neal helped some obese youngsters push away from the junk food and the sweets and get into shape. The series suffered low ratings and has yet to be renewed.

Had Shaq inserted a revenge motive into the show, however, he might have had more success. If, for instance, he had heard from executives at CBS, NBC and Fox that he was unmotivated and washed up, he might have produced a far better show, a veritable “American Idol” for fat kids.

Just about everything that Shaq has accomplished in his NBA career has been in response to the need for revenge.

When in Orlando, he wanted to show critics that he was more than just a product pitchman and a star of lousy action movies. So he led the Magic to the NBA Finals in 1995.

After he signed with the Lakers in the summer of ’96, he wanted to stick it to pundits who ridicule his quote, “I’ve won everywhere except college and the pros.” It took a while, but eventually he led the Lakers to three straight titles, starting in 2000.

In Miami, he longed to retaliate against the Lakers, who shoved him out the door while embracing his nemesis, Kobe Bryant. In 2006, he — with considerable assistance from Dwyane Wade — powered the Miami Heat to an unlikely NBA title.

And now he’s in Phoenix.

Somewhere in the Arizona desert, Shaq sits and ponders the destruction of the Miami Heat. He sees the oil in Pat Riley’s hair catching on fire. He sees owner Mickey Arison drowning in a sea of red ink. He sees throngs of fans outside the American Airlines Arena chanting, “We want Shaq back!”

This is what he lives for.

But has he finally met his match? Can he once again use revenge as fuel to take him where he wants to go?

At age 36, in his 16^th NBA season, does he have one more vendetta left in him?

In early February, the plummeting Heat sent Shaq to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. To anyone else, this would have been considered a godsend. At the time, the Heat had won just 9 out of 47 games, and even the prospects of reaching the 10-win plateau seemed grim. Staying in Miami at his age, to be a part of a rebuilding process, would have been silly.

Still, even though he landed in a warm-weather oasis on a championship-caliber team, old habits never die. He found a reason to lash out at Riley and the Heat. Explaining how much he likes his new teammates in Phoenix, Shaq said in late March: “I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys. We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I’m actually on a team again.”

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