Shaquille O’Neal does not like being disrespected. So much so that he threatened to put his hands on Kenny Smith when he showed the same!
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Shaq is one of the most respected athletes in sports. As a former professional basketball player, O’Neal achieved much in his 19-year career in the NBA.
In his Hall of Fame career, The Big Aristotle won four NBA Championships, a regular-season MVP award, and was a 15-time All-Star. Safe to say he was a dominant force in the NBA.
As such, it comes as no surprise that Shaquille O’Neal does not take well to being disrespected. In fact, there have been times when he has responded with the same!
From Rudy Gobert to Dwight Howard, Shaq has had numerous altercations with a number of players. All of whom he feels have disrespected him. However, there are times when he has felt the same way about his friends.
Shaquille O’Neal once threatened to beat up Kenny Smith for disrespecting him on set
Shaq and The Jet-Kenny Smith have been close friends ever since the former joined TNT’s Inside the NBA team. Their respect for each other is high, both as former players and colleagues.
However, there was one time when Smith, as he had done many times before, tried to act funny with O’Neal. Something which The Big Fella did not appreciate.
Kenny decided to clown Shaq for being late to set, which enraged the Hall of Famer, prompting him to threaten Smith. He stated he would put his hands on the two-time NBA Champion, much like Will Smith did with Chris Rock!
A rare occurrence, seeing as Shaq very rarely gets into it with Kenny. However, a nice change of pace for Charles Barkley who is usually on the receiving end of O’Neal’s anger.
