Raking in $121,000,000, Shaquille O’Neal Found Lakers Coach’s ‘Audition’ Offensive in 1996: “Had Me Running Stairs”

Shaquille O’Neal was probably the hottest commodity in the NBA market in 1996 when his rookie contract with the Orlando Magic expired. More than anybody, Shaq understood his value on a team. So when the Magic didn’t meet his demands, the Big Aristotle left for the West Coast. In the 1996 off-season, Shaq signed a seven-year, $121,000,000 deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, he wasn’t received with the expected ‘we-are-lucky-to-have-you’ welcome by Del Harris, the Lakers head coach at the time. Shaq revealed in his 2011 book “Shaq Uncut” that, Harris ‘auditioned’ him when he arrived in Los Angeles, which he found offensive. 

Harris and Shaq’s former Lakers teammate, Kobe Bryant, both have admitted that if Shaq remained in shape, he could have been far greater than he already was. As long as Harris coached the Diesel, his tactic was always to keep him in shape. However, during his stint with the Lakers, the 1995 Coach of The Year could not deliver a championship despite having Shaq on the roster.

Shaquille O’Neal was offended by Lakers head coach Del Harris ‘auditioning’ him

Shaq wrote in his book that when he arrived in Los Angeles, he didn’t get the kind of welcome that he expected. While playing for the Orlando Magic, the big man was a superstar on the roster after almost single-handedly taking Orlando to the 1995 Finals. However, when the Big Aristotle reported to training in LA, Harris started by putting him under conditioning drills.

Shaq found himself ‘running, jumping, and dunking’ for hours. He wasn’t too happy with the tough conditioning drills that he had to endure. This is what O’Neal had to say about Del Harris auditioning him, as per his book Shaq Uncut:

“Next thing I know Del starts putting me through all these conditioning drills. He’s got me running and jumping and dunking. He had me running stairs, suicides, all that stuff for about an hour and a half. I’m saying to myself, I just signed for over $100 million and I used to come to this town and bust Del Harris’s team every night, and now I have to audition for this guy?”

Harris knew the importance of having Shaq in shape for the best output on the court. Shaq also mentioned in his book that Harris didn’t have much of a say during his coaching stint with the Lakers, especially when it came to Kobe Bryant. According to the big man, the then-team owner, Jerry Buss made sure that young Bryant got his minutes in the game. “He’d tell Del, ‘Put the kid back in the game,’” Shaq said about Dr. Buss wanting Kobe on the floor.

Shaq said the Lakers had no fire or enthusiasm under Harris

The feud between Shaquille O’Neal and his former head coach didn’t end with the latter leaving the Lakers in 1999. In 2002, the Lakers were struggling in the regular season and Harris was coaching the Dallas Mavericks. Alluding to his team’s struggles, Shaq attacked Harris in his statement. He said that just like the time Harris coached the team, the Lakers had ‘no fire no enthusiasm’. 

However, the retaliation that came from the former Lakers head coach was even more brutal. He said that other players like Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher never had problems with his coaching because they played with passion. Alluding to Shaq’s injury and impact on the game, the veteran coach further said that under his coaching the 2000 MVP missed 30% of the games. However, the team won 62% of those games.