Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant players in NBA history. While he is mostly known for his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, he also helped lead the Miami Heat to an NBA championship win as well.
During his four years with the Heat, O’Neal started off as one of the best players in the league. By the time he was traded in the middle of his fourth year, his numbers had dropped off dramatically.
Of course, Miami traded O’Neal to the Phoenix Suns, where he went on to play a year and a half. After that, he finished out his career by playing one season with the Cleveland Cavaliers and then his final year with the Boston Celtics.
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How things ended between O’Neal and the Heat was very abrupt. Recently, O’Neal spoke out and shared a story about how a “threat” towards Pat Riley backfired on him and resulted in him being shipped out of town.
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O’Neal shared his story during an appearance on the “Straight Game Podcast.”
“He (Riley) wanted to kick me out of practice. I told him ‘Make me leave then,’ O’Neal said. “I got traded the next day.”
Riley has never been a man scared of making a big move. He has done so time and time again throughout his career.
While that is a hilarious story, it brings up the question about whether or not Riley moved O’Neal out of town due to his remarks. Perhaps the plan was already to trade the superstar center before this exact situation.
Throughout his 1,207-game NBA career, O’Neal started in 1,197 of those appearances. He finished out his career with averages of 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game and he shot 66.7 percent from the floor. His career free throw percentage was just 52.7 percent.
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To this day, Riley remains the man calling the shots for Miami. O’Neal, on the other hand, has made an impressive transition to being one of the most popular NBA analysts in the business.
After his dominant career, O’Neal will never be forgotten by NBA fans. Riley’s work as a player, head coach, and executive, will always be remembered as well.
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