---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm the LCL - the Last Center Left. I've…"
description: "\"I'm the LCL - the Last Center Left. I've been doing the same things for 13 years, but now they're flopping and falling, and the refs are falling for it..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/259/shaquille-o-neal-659_basketball_i-m-the-lcl-the-last-center-left-i-ve-be_1820613.jpg"
---

#  I'm the LCL - the Last Center Left. I've been doing the…

![“I'm the LCL - the Last Center Left. I've been doing the same things for 13 years, but now they're flopping and falling, and the refs are falling for it, too.” quote by Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/259/shaquille-o-neal-659_basketball_i-m-the-lcl-the-last-center-left-i-ve-be_1820613.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/259/shaquille-o-neal-659_basketball_i-m-the-lcl-the-last-center-left-i-ve-be_1820613.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/259/shaquille-o-neal-659_basketball_i-m-the-lcl-the-last-center-left-i-ve-be_1820613.jpg)

> “I'm the LCL - the Last Center Left. I've been doing the same things for 13 years, but now they're flopping and falling, and the refs are falling for it, too.”

[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker feels stuck in a routine that no longer yields results, noting both personal performance and external judgments are declining.

**In simple terms:** Stagnation leads to failure; change is needed.

Key Takeaway

Adapt strategies to break the cycle of decline.

Themes

sports career adaptation performance perception

Mood

frustrated determined

Type

reflective motivational

When to use this quote

- coaching
- skill development
- mental preparation

Key Concepts

resilience self-awareness feedback loops

Questions to Reflect On

- What new approach could revitalize your performance?
- How can you reset external perceptions?

A Different Perspective

Changing habits may be resisted by entrenched expectations.

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[Basketball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basketball/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Falling Refs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-refs-2191786/) [Flopping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flopping/) [Flopping Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flopping-falling-2191789/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Lcl Center](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lcl-center-2191788/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Refs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refs/) [Refs Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refs-falling-2191787/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Flopping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-flopping-2191790/)

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> [ An artist must be a reactionary. He has to stand out against the tenor \[group think\] of the age and not go flopping along.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/an-artist-must-be-a-reactionary-he-has-to-stand-out-against-the-tenor/)

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> [Flip-flopping is kind of an easy thing to identify. During a recent convention, we heard an irate Senator make an angry speech declaring that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lautenberg/flip-flopping-is-kind-of-an-easy-thing-to-identify-during-a-recent/)

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> [Ideas matter a lot, the underlying ideas that stand behind policies. When you don't have ideas, your policies are flip-flopping all over the place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-shultz/ideas-matter-a-lot-the-underlying-ideas-that-stand-behind-policies/)

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> [I've been a hunter pretty much all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-ve-been-a-hunter-pretty-much-all-my-life/)

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> [I guess it's good in a sense that it stops any of it from happening, but now you're telling me if it's Game 7…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-griffin/i-guess-it-s-good-in-a-sense-that-it-stops-any-of-it-from-happening/)

[Blake Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-griffin/)

## More by Shaquille O'Neal

> [ I failed, I think, seven \[or\] eight times before I finally got my first \[championship\]. It was just, you know, just about me growing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-failed-i-think-seven-or-eight-times-before-i-finally-got-my-first/)

[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

> [And if the big dog ain't me, then the house won't get guarded - period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-if-the-big-dog-ain-t-me-then-the-house-won-t-get-guarded-period/)

[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

> [And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-i-want-to-do-it-the-right-way-like-everybody-else-not-just-a/)

[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

> [I don't send messages, I'm not a fax machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-don-t-send-messages-i-m-not-a-fax-machine/)

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> [I told our guys they must not have cable because Antoine Walker knows how to play, Derek Anderson can play, Shandon Anderson knows how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-told-our-guys-they-must-not-have-cable-because-antoine-walker-knows/)

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> [I was really upset. I felt like they tried to limit me, whoever 'they' may be. So I just said to myself third quarter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-was-really-upset-i-felt-like-they-tried-to-limit-me-whoever-they/)

[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

> [Keep in mind, I'm not allowed to be tough. I'm tamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/keep-in-mind-i-m-not-allowed-to-be-tough-i-m-tamed/)

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> [Write this: Since my boy is the coach, I'm going to try out for the Dolphins next year. Tight end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/write-this-since-my-boy-is-the-coach-i-m-going-to-try-out-for-the/)

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> [I'm known as The Big Baryshnikov.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-m-known-as-the-big-baryshnikov/)

[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

> [Enunciation, diction, all that stuff. None of that is in my personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/enunciation-diction-all-that-stuff-none-of-that-is-in-my-personality/)

[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

> [I told Leonard, in the immortal words of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2, 'I'm going on vacation. If I tell you where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-told-leonard-in-the-immortal-words-of-tom-cruise-in-mission/)

[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

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[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

[Explore all 422 Shaquille O'Neal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

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[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

> [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/)

[Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/)

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[Dick Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-bennett/)

> [I'm a competitive person. I love the game of basketball. I'm a gym rat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/i-m-a-competitive-person-i-love-the-game-of-basketball-i-m-a-gym-rat/)

[Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/)

> [I am both humbled and honored to receive the Honda Sports Award for women's basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittney-griner/i-am-both-humbled-and-honored-to-receive-the-honda-sports-award-for/)

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> [What I've talked about the entire series and throughout this playoffs is about intensity and effort, desire and will of our players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-laimbeer/what-i-ve-talked-about-the-entire-series-and-throughout-this-playoffs/)

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