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“Shaquille O’Neal would take a bucket of pi*s and dump it on rookies”: Gary Payton tells one of the grossest pranks The Diesel used to pull during their Miami Heat days

Akash Murty
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"Shaquille O'Neal would take a bucket of piss and dump it on rookies": Gary Payton tells one of the grossest pranks The Diesel used to pull during their Miami Heat days

Shaquille O’Neal was one of the biggest pranksters in the NBA, Gary Payton shares one of his pranks which might gross the living hell out of anybody.

Shaquille O’Neal was always the most mischievous player in every team he played and there is no rookie from a Shaq team that did not go through a tough time. And we mean that in a fun manner.

The humble giant always tried to keep the locker room environment light with his friendly demeanor. And his favorite go-to targets would always be rookies.

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Not just because the youngsters would be easy targets, but because he wanted the responsibility to be the leader who makes life easier for them, tell them the ins and outs of the biggest basketball stage and get them used to their new lives.

Above everything, The Diesel wanted to keep them grounded, and one way to do it easily was to become their friends. But Shaq didn’t always start off those relationships well enough.

“Shaquille O’Neal once threw a bucket of piss on a rookie”: Gary Payton

Pranking the young guns was O’Neal’s way of making the bond. But in his 19-year NBA, no other prank might have been as ridiculous as the one Gary Payton recalls of from their Miami Heat days in an interview on Vlad TV.

“Shaq was a jokester. When one of the rookies would be in the stall, he would take a bucket and use the bathroom in it for a week. And then all of a sudden he’ll pour it on them”

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Threw a bucket of what? Yes, sadly, that cannot be a made-up story from Gary. Shaq is quite capable of such shenanigans which could scare or gross the living hell out of individuals. The question is how many people did he do it with.

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Although gross pranks are a part and parcel of an athlete’s life since the start of his career, a bucket of human waste poured on you is not a thrill one would take lightly at any point in their life.

But what would you be able to say to a 7’1, 325-pound mountain even if you are a giant young man yourself? Hey Shaq, will you please not do that next time?

About the author

Akash Murty

Akash Murty

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An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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