Shaquille O’Neal, Who Once Bet $1,000,000, ‘Gambled’ On His Future In Miami By Accepting Gary Payton’s Passes

Shaquille O’Neal made his way to the Miami Heat in July of 2004 after spending 8 illustrious years with the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite winning 3 straight titles alongside Kobe Bryant, their relationship deteriorated to a point of no return by the time the 2004 NBA Finals had ended with the Pistons gentlemen sweeping them.

Jerry Buss had made it clear that both Shaq and Phil Jackson were going to be booted from the team during that summer. While talking heads around the league contemplated on whether they would keep Kobe or Shaq, it was quite obvious that they were going to keep the younger one of the two.

The Miami Heat, who had their own young superstar shooting guard in Dwyane Wade swooped in and traded for Shaq in that summer of 2004 with a deal centered around Lamar Odom.

Also read: “What the F**k Do you do With Shaquille O’Neal?”: LeBron James’ Teammate, Richard Jefferson, Elucidates Lakers Legend’s Dominance

Shaquille O’Neal on why the Miami Heat got rid of him and Gary Payton

After losing to the Detroit Pistons in the 2005 Playoffs, the Miami Heat looked to strengthen their backcourt. So, Pat Riley brought in unrestricted free agent, Gary Payton. Payton was familiar with Shaq’s game as they had been teammates on the purple and gold during the 2003-04.

Payton felt comfortable with dishing the ball to O’Neal down-low for him to trigger the offense off double teams. This strategy with Dwyane Wade on the wing worked like a charm for the Heat as they won the 2006 NBA championship.

Things didn’t work out all too well however the next season in the postseason and according to Shaq, there was a reason why neither him nor Gary made it as a heat player past that season. According to ‘The Big Aristotle’, Pat Riley was fed up with the two constantly running plays for each other and disregarding the set plays.

Shaquille O’Neal once bet $1 million

Shaquille O’Neal, unlike Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan, isn’t really into betting his money all too much. He doesn’t however, shy away from it when given the chance. While on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he admitted to putting $1 million on the line at one point in his life.

O’Neal revealed that it was for an MMA fight and that he even won the bet. He didn’t reveal how much he won off the gamble but it’s safe to say he got a pretty good payday if he put up as much as $1,000,000 on the line.

Also read: With $5,000,000 on the Line, ‘Shrewd’ Tom Brady Beats Shaquille O’Neal in the Race for a ‘Pickleball Revolution’