Shaquille O’Neal may have a calm demeanor most of the time, but he is capable of doing wild things. Every NBA fan knows that a little too well. And some players do too, including Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady, who once received a little too much affection from the big man during an All-Star Game.
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The 2007 NBA All-Star Game took place in Las Vegas. So Shaq was bound to do something crazy on the court to match the atmosphere of the city. However, Tracy McGrady didn’t seem to enjoy the four-time NBA Champion’s antics that much, for obvious reasons. In fact, the then Houston Rockets star had to remind the big fella that he can’t go around kissing people, even though the event was held in Vegas.
At one point during the All-Star contest, Shaq, who was playing for the Eastern Conference, tried to dunk the basketball with his typical rim-rattling move. However, the ball managed to bounce off the rim instead of going inside the basket. But Richard ‘Rip’ Hamilton soon retrieved the ball and gave Shaq another chance to redeem himself. This time the big man made no mistake in throwing it down. But what he did next baffled many in the arena.
Shaq kissed Tracy McGrady, who was standing near the paint, in the right temple region of his head. McGrady seemed almost stunned by what had just happened. “Tell Shaq to stop kissing people,” McGrady said in a dejected voice, while resuming play from the baseline. Shaquille O’Neal shared a reel of the incident on his Instagram stories recently. It’s pretty obvious that he had a lot of fun riling up McGrady.
The 2007 All-Star Game marked Shaq’s 14th and penultimate All-Star appearance. He was with the Miami Heat at the time and hence, was representing the Eastern Conference. On the other hand, McGrady was playing the last All-Star game of his career, representing the Western Conference team. However, he didn’t seem to like his parting gift from Shaq. So what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stays in Vegas it seems.
Shaq’s other wild moments in All-Star games
A 15-time All-Star, Shaq has had his fun in All-Star games. He was one of the few players in NBA history who made it to the All-Star contest as a rookie. There was no looking back after that.
The Diesel recording many memorable moments after that. He once duped Michael Jordan with a smooth Dream Shake during a pre-game warmup session.
On another occasion, the big fella even broke the rules of the contest. Instead of shooting a regulation free throw, Shaq threw a lob to himself off the glass to dunk the free-throw attempt. The Diesel’s antics to compensate for his poor free throw shooting made even Bill Russell laugh. The move was obviously illegal because the ball didn’t even touch the rim.
