THEY STOOD SIDE to side in the center circle, waiting for referee Joey Crawford to loft the ball in the air to kick off the 2004 NBA Finals. On one side was Shaquille O'Neal, the gargantuan almost myth of a man, 7-foot-1 and some 330 pounds of pure power and force. And on the other side, there was Ben Wallace, nearly 100 pounds lighter and maybe not quite the 6-foot-9 he was listed at.
The ball went up and the 32-year-old O'Neal quick-jumped it, swiping the ball before it reached its apex.