Shaquille O’Neal Rubbed Lakers Teammate’s ‘Bear of Abstinence’ On His Crotch to Prank Him, Says Robert Horry

At this point, Shaquille O’Neal is remembered for two things from his playing days. He was arguably the most dominant center of all time, a powerhouse who could shatter backboards with his dunks and strike fear into opponents the moment he stepped on the floor. But The Diesel was just as famous for being a world-class prankster.

Stories of the Shaq Fu Master doing absurd things like defecating in someone’s car or knocking teammates on the head with his knob are well known. But Robert Horry has a new prank story involving the four-time NBA Champion, and this one might just take the cake.

Big Shot Rob and Shaq used to play with an underrated baller named A.C. Green. Green became a born-again Christian during his senior year in high school and committed to abstinence, meaning he waited until marriage for intimacy. To drive that point home, A.C. carried around “Little AC,” a tiny green teddy bear that stood for Abstinence Committed.

Well, you could imagine what The Diesel did once he got his hands on that bear. “So Shaq takes the bear, and let’s just say, he wore it right here (aims around his crotch),” recalled Horry during an interview on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast. And that wasn’t all Shaq did to it either.

“Who does that man? He wore the bear right here and was walking around the locker room. Like dude, what are you f****** doing man? Put that bear down. He’s like, ‘Naw man.” Horry then mimes Shaq “giving it” to the bear, which made everyone on the podcast burst into tears of laughter.

“You done took the bear’s Virginia man. Good thing AC had a bunch of those bears,” added Horry with a big smile on his face.

It’s nice to know that some of Shaq’s teammates got his back when he does wild an inappropriate things like this. It is funny, as long as you’re not the one he’s pranking.

Lou Amundson knows that better than anyone. He was the victim of a Shaq-tasrophe prank involving his mouth piece, which the big fella put inside his tights, revealed Matt Barnes during an old edition of All The Smoke. 

“Everyone knew but Lou. Shaq goes through a whole shootaround,” said Barnes, who could barely contain his own amusement. He mentioned how Lou was an “energy dude,” and finally put the mouth piece in in the locker room before the game began. “He put that sh** in his mouth, everyone died.”

And this will be the legacy the big man leaves behind. A genuinely kind and generous person, Shaq donates his time and resources to make the world a better place. His athletic accomplishments rank among the most impressive in human history, and he even showed off his skills as a wrestler in AEW.

But Shaq the prankster is just as much a part of the Hall of Famer’s legacy. He loved to mess with people and wasn’t afraid to push the envelope. In a world where people are careful about every move, Shaq stayed true to what he loved, always having fun and keeping his teammates on their toes. Never change, Shaq. Never change.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

Read More