Shaquille O'Neal was really close to fighting former head coach Pat Riley during a Miami Heat practice session.
It's not a secret that Shaquille O'Neal can be the funniest person on earth but also somebody who goes from 0 to 100 in one second if he feels disrespected. This is how he's been during his entire life, and while sometimes it helped him, that wasn't always the case for the Big Diesel.
Shaq has starred in so many controversial moments over the years, starting from his little feud with Penny Hardaway and the Orlando Magic and then the huge beef he had with Kobe Bryant on the Los Angeles Lakers. Even after he left L.A., Shaq was involved in controversy, like the time he almost got really physical with his former head coach.
Both O'Neal and Pat Riley are two guys with hard characters, and when they clashed, tempers flared, and they almost went at it during their time together in Miami. They won a championship in 2006, but that didn't mean they couldn't get in each other's faces and bark at one another.
Shaquille O'Neal Almost Fought Pat Riley After Exchanging F-Bombs
During the 2007-08 NBA season, O'Neal and Riley starred in this controversial moment, which started with Jason William being berated by Riley and then escalated with Shaq nearly punching his head coach. In his book "Shaq Uncut: My Story," the 4x NBA champion recalled this incident.
Via Deadspin:
“There was a lot of tension between Pat and the players. So we’re about to start practice and Jason Williams comes in about ten seconds late. Pat being Pat, he starts swearing at him and screaming, ‘Get the hell out of here!’
“I tell Pat we’re a team and we need to stick together, not throw guys out of the gym. Pat is screaming at me and says if I don’t like it, then I should get the hell out of practice, too.
“That’s when I said, ‘Why don’t you make me?’
“I start taking a couple of steps towards Pat. Udonis Haslem steps in and I shove him out of the way. Then [Alonzo Mourning] tries to grab me. I threw him aside like he was a rag doll. Now it’s me and Riley face-to-face, jaw to jaw. I’m poking him in the chest and he keeps slapping my finger away and it’s getting nasty. Noisy, too. He’s yelling ‘F*** you!’ and I’m yelling back, ‘No, f*** you!'”
Things got really tense between these two, and no matter who tried to stop Shaq, he wasn't having any of that. Not even Udonis Haslem could do anything against the center. In February 2008, Shaq would be traded to the Phoenix Suns, where his career level started decreasing with time. He then played for other teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, but there's no doubt we saw the last of Shaq's best version in Miami. Unfortunately, his tenure in South Beach didn't have the best ending.
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