Shaquille O’Neal is undoubtedly one of the most dominant athletes, let alone basketball players, of all time. He’s a highly decorated player, as well as one of the most respected and, sometimes, hated players in basketball history.
He’s had some controversial moments in his career, and he’s faced a lot of adversity as well.
Shaq’s Ubiquity
As a basketball analyst he has been very outspoken on NBA issues and isn’t afraid to be critical of star players, but overall he has made tremendous contributions to the sport of basketball as a whole.
Shaq has seen it all in the NBA, and while he has many legendary stories, things that often stand out about Shaq during and after his pro days are his comedic actions and goofy antics in and out of the locker room.
There are tons of things Shaq has done, but the most recent revelation is a rather unhygienic and disgusting purported story about Shaq being Shaq.
DIESEL IS IN THE BUILDING. @SHAQ pic.twitter.com/5jQUj0cDEj
— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) February 27, 2022
Gary Keeps It Real
Gary Payton recently dropped a bomb about his former Miami Heat teammate in an interview with VladTV.
“Shaq is a jokester, so if one of the rookies was in a stall, he would take a bucket and use the bathroom in it for about a week, then all of a sudden he’d pour it on them,” Payton said.
While Shaq did get into it with some players in the league, he definitely made a lot more laugh with his persona, how he carried himself, and some of the things he did that garnered laughs and attention.
Shaqtin A Fool
Starting off, one could tell by the plethora of nicknames Shaquille has that he was a joking and playful person for the most part. Among his funniest nicknames are “Shaq Fu,” and “Shaq Daddy.”
One of the most notable segments Shaq has on TNT is called “Shaqtin a Fool,” where he takes some of the most asinine plays and ranks them by how ridiculous they are.
If anyone had the license to clown NBA players for their moments of folly and failure, it’s Shaq.
This segment has been borderline disrespectful before (see the case of JaVale McGee as an example), and definitely gotten some players upset at Shaq because they made the list.
Shaq Faux Pas?
But that’s all Shaq is about, being a funny and entertaining person and clowning people when they make foolish mistakes. As harmless as it can be, people don’t want to be on a list of how idiotic their play was at a certain point in time.
Some of the pranks and stunts he’s done are stories that will be told for ages. According to Phil Jackson, Shaq once showed up to practice naked. “Shocked us all in a practice situation, especially when he showed up nude with just his shoes on,” said Jackson.
Rick Fox and Derek Fisher also backed this story up
“He would start running around looking for guys to hug,” said Derek Fisher to The Sports Rush. “That’s why, when I hit that shot in San Antonio, we were so good at sprinting off the court,” said Derek Fisher. Shaq even admitted his favorite memory in Miami was fighting a former teammate while in the shower naked.
2004-05 may have been Shaq’s last truly dominant season.
22.9 PPG
10.4 RPG
2.3 BPG🏆 All NBA 1st Team
🏆 2nd in MVP Voting
🏆 Led Heat to 59-23 Record in first season in Miami. pic.twitter.com/TDebzmC9Nr— Vintage NBA (@vintagenba_) February 27, 2022
Shaq’s Underwear?
In that same interview it is also noted that somehow Gary Payton had gotten ahold of Shaq’s underwear and would hide them from Shaq for jokes and pranks.
Shaq is a basketball icon, and because of his antics and demeanor he will always be remembered as a fun-loving player and teammate. It is ironic how fun and playful such a big and dominant player can actually be in the masculine sports field, and it only shows how human these people are off the court.
Shaq is the embodiment of this, and no one gave him too much pushback because they knew what he was capable of.
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