New York, NY

Shaquille O'Neal, who enjoyed tremendous success with the Lakers, reveals interesting insights during his stint in Los Angeles, his tandem with Kobe Bryant and his relationship with other NBA players and even legends long-since retired in a new book due out Nov. 15.

The 39-year-old retired NBA superstar, known to be vocal during his 19-year NBA career, holds little back in "Shaq Uncut: My Story," a new book co-authored with ESPN analyst and ESPNBoston.com columnist Jackie MacMullan.

In excerpts made available to media, the once-imposing 7-1, 325-pound center O'Neal, who used his size and strength to overpower opponents inside the paint, cited tensions with former teammate Bryant.

In one instance, O'Neal, who won three consecutive NBA titles with Bryant ('00, '01 and '02), said that the latter questioned his fitness and his then toe injury in an interview that was against a 2003 coaching staff directive to stop publicly criticizing each other.

The four-time NBA champion O'Neal, recognized with the NBA MVP plum in 2000 and with three NBA MVP Finals, also takes issues with former Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Shaq noted in the book that the all-time leading NBA scorer and six-time NBA champion Abdul-Jabbar was reluctant to share any advice or tips, allegations disputed by Abdul-Jabbar with a post on his personal Facebook page.

O'Neal also cited a Cavaliers directive not to criticize former teammate LeBron James during his final season in Cleveland.

Meanwhile, co-author MacMullen wrote about O'Neal's troubled youth.

MacMullen said that the young O'Neal was physically abused by his father who in one instance punched his son in the face.

Available at Amazon.com: Shaq Uncut: My Story

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