We all know Shaquille O'Neal as a gentle giant who's probably one of the nicest guys in and around the NBA. However, the Hall of Fame big man can get a bit violent when he loses his temper. Just ask former Miami Heat teammate Udonis Haslem.
According to Haslem, Shaq once got into it with then-Miami head coach Pat Riley in what turned out to be a very heated confrontation. The moment got so hot that the pair almost came to blows. For his part, all Haslem wanted to do was prevent O'Neal from pummelling Riley. Unfortunately for him, it was Haslem who felt the wrath of Shaq:
“The fight was me trying to hold Shaq back and he threw me like a sack of potato chips,” Haslem said in a recent interview with Tyler R. Tynes of GQ. “I'm trying to save Pat's old ass and Shaq grabbed me and swung me. He threw me down like that and I was just trying to stop him. Imagine if he really wanted a piece of me? I would've had to tase him!”
At 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, Haslem is not a small dude. The Heat icon is also as tough as they come so for Shaq to literally throw him to the ground just goes to show how imposing of a man the Big Aristotle really was/is.
Being the tough guy that he is, Haslem himself has also been in his fair share of quarrels — be it with opponents or teammates. In the same interview, the 41-year-old veteran shared how he once had a fight with ex-Heat teammate Gary Payton that hilariously involved a broomstick:
“We started arguing and Gary went and got a broomstick,” Haslem said. “[Head coach Pat Riley] kicked us outta practice. We had a game that night and me and Gary didn't speak the whole game. He was finna hit me wit' a broomstick!”
Haslem is indeed one of the most colorful personalities we've ever come across and he has a ton of very interesting tales from what has been a 19-year career with the Heat. This is just one of the reasons why he is considered a legend in Miami.
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