Shaquille O’Neal was once described by Pat Riley as his biggest ‘get’ on the market, even more monumental than signing LeBron James. The two won a championship together in 2006 after coming to terms with Shaq’s role on the team. So, it’s always a tad bit surprising to hear of the underlying feud between the two that led to Shaq being traded.
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A lot of the tension between them came from Shaq faking his injuries during the 2007-08 season, according to Riley. Shaq missed several games due to a right hip injury along with back and ankle pain, leading to soft tissue damage and inflammation.
The Heat’s poor record coupled with Riley’s stringent regime of staying in shape, not to mention his skepticism over O’Neal injuries, all led to quite the mess. In Shaq’s eyes, one particular event was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
While on the Straight Game podcast, he revealed how coming to teammate, Jason Williams’, defense led to him and Riley getting into a scuffle. Less than 24 hours later, he was on a plane out of Miami.
“Jason Williams came half a second late and he [Riley] was like, ‘You need to get out.’ That’s when he got rid of Antoine and all my guys and I had a regular team so we were losing like crazy,” said Shaq, setting the stage.
“I said, ‘He’s not getting out,’ and then he said, ‘You get out.’ I said, ‘Mother****** put me out.’ So, we got into a little scuffle and the next day, I was traded.”
Shaq on Pat Riley: “He wanted to kick me out of practice… I told him ‘Make me leave then’…
I got traded the next day.” pic.twitter.com/5PM6JSg5aF
— Straight Game Podcast (@straightgamepod) August 23, 2025
O’Neal landed in Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks in a trade that saw Shaq’s decline from stardom as he’d never average over 18 points a game again.
Things didn’t get smoothed over between the two either as Suns GM at the time, Steve Kerr, broke down the aforementioned ‘faking injuries’ story to him. “Pat started telling people that ‘he’s faking it, he’s getting a divorce, we’ve got a bad record, so he doesn’t feel like playing anymore.’”
Riley’s ruthless demeanor when it comes to transactions have made him both a legend in the front office and also someone looked at as a bit two-faced. It’s unclear if all of Shaq’s recounting is 100% true as he’s known to exaggerate the truth but given Pat’s track record, these anecdotes wouldn’t be all too shocking.
