Shaquille O’Neal’s bigger-than-life persona is one of the many reasons why fans love him so much. The Big Aristotle’s game was not the only thing that was entertaining to watch. From stepping onto the court till the cameras were off him after the post-game press conference, Shaq made it a mission to make people smile. But donning the hat of a prankster is still what makes him smile the most to this day.
On one of the more recent episodes of The Big Podcast with Shaq, the Los Angeles Lakers legend recalled a prank he pulled, not on his teammates but a video guy that supposedly bothered them during his time in LA.
“There was one guy who kept bothering us in LA. I think it was a video game guy. He had this Ferrari so he would come by and show off. So, he leaves, and then he comes back and says, ‘Hey man, somebody put dog sh*t in my Ferrari.’ So one of my guys says, ‘Hey man, maybe a dog climbed in there.’”
And when it all seemed to be coming to an end, the video guy with the Ferrari’s response was, “‘Ain’t no f**king dog gonna climb in a $400,000 Ferrari.’ Somebody put a big piece of dog sh*t right in the middle of his seat…I don’t know who did it.”
Quite slyly trying to avoid any statements that would get him incriminated for the prank, Shaquille O’Neal just dusted his hands off the story while almost wheezing in laughter, trying to catch his breath. Perhaps Shaq had a hand in it, even if he may not have been the person directly pulling the prank. However, unless O’Neal spills the beans on the entire situation, we will likely never know.
The four-time NBA champion has proudly owned the tag of a prankster for a long time and he sure lives up to it. He is often seen pulling fast ones on his co-hosts. He even went so far as to get one over Stephen A. Smith, apparently just because he was bored on that particular day.
Even during his playing days, while he was the most dominant force on the court, the Lakers legend was also the biggest clown, making people laugh, in the locker room, and off the court. His humor even extended to post-game press conferences, as seen in the YouTube clip right here.
And let’s not forget this iconic advertisement of NBA 2k18 consisting of Shaquille O’Neal and his former teammate, Kobe Bryant.
So, while Shaq may not have admitted to any wrongdoing in the prank he mentioned, his laughter may just indicate otherwise.
A glimpse into Shaquille O’Neal’s pranks off-camera
If you thought Shaquille O’Neal’s shenanigans seen on film are funny, then imagine the things he would pull off on other people off-camera. Here is Matt Barnes to give some insight into those Shaq moments.
“He (Shaq) used to f**k with this dude named Lou Amundson…They had a back-and-forth thing and one time, Shaq shoots around; Shaq put Liu’s mouthpiece in his tights and put it up underneath his n*ts…Everyone knew but Lou…Bro, he put that sh*t in his mouth, everyone died.”
Of course, that kind of prank would have just about anybody in splits (except Lou Amundson, of course). That is just the kind of energy Shaquille O’Neal has always loved to bring with him, wherever he goes, something that has made him almost universally beloved, regardless of generation.
