Shaquille O’Neal played with many guys during his 19-year career, but when asked on his podcast “The Big Podcast With Shaq” who the worst teammate was, he barely paused before saying a name.
And that name was Dennis Rodman.
“Worst teammate? Dennis Rodman. He was a great player, but he made it difficult. Like when you try to get the guys together and the people above you [are] let this one man do as he pleases. So we had to be there an hour before the game. He had arrived 15 minutes before the game and was eating chicken and rice. While the coaches are talking, he would jump in the shower. Cold shower. Come and give you 15-20 rebounds.”
Shaq and Rodman were only together on the Los Angeles Lakers for the 1998-99 season, but that seemed more than enough for Shaq.
Shaq and Rodman have a history of beefing
This latest jab is nothing new to Shaq and Rodman. They don’t like each other now, and they certainly didn’t like each other when they were adversaries. Below is a video of over seven minutes of heated exchanges on the track between Shaq and Rodman.
There are also more recent examples. At the NBA 75 ceremony, he appeared in a different jacket than the players had been given by the NBA, then threw off his jacket and crashed a photo featuring younger players such as LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade.
Unsurprisingly, Shaq had a few comments about Rodman’s behavior during the ceremony. Here’s Shaq’s commentary on Rodman’s clothing, from a March episode of his podcast.
“If Dennis Rodman had come in a clean cut, in a suit with glasses like that, it would have gone viral. A clean cut, a cool-a** suit with some nice glasses, his hair did, two girls in his arms, you know, taking him to the podium.”
And here Shaq talks about Rodman’s general behavior during the ceremony.
“My mother won’t allow that. I represent Dr. Lucille O’Neal. I do not represent myself. I represent my mother and the other women in my life, Taahirah, Amirah and Me’arah, I represent them. I’m going to go crazy and do my thing. But when it comes time to be professional, I will always be professional.”
Will these two ever let the past pass and become friends? Shaq has done something like this before, so it’s possible. He and Kobe Bryant didn’t always get along when they were teammates, but later became friends. It doesn’t seem likely that Shaq and Rodman will ever eat their meat and be on better terms, but you never know.
(H/T: CBS Sports)
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