Every fan and player believes that certain referees are biased against them. Udonis Haslem is no different, as he once felt that officials were out to get him. Pat Riley seemingly concurred with the forward and devised an ingenious plan to help him combat the issue.
Advertisement
On an episode of The OGs podcast, the Heat legend talked about his issues with the referees in his rookie year. He claimed his brawny look, tattoos, and braided hair made him stick out like a sore thumb and put him in the officials’ crosshairs. For the first two months of his career, he’d often get called for soft fouls, a pattern that even Riley noticed.
To help curb the problem, the former head coach gave the young star a tip to get in the referee’s good books. Haslem said,
“Riles calls me in his office, I sat down, he slid this piece of paper to me. I looked at the piece of paper…I said, ‘What the f**k is this?’ He said, it’s the names of all the refs…I want you to address them by their names. He said this is gonna start the process from them f***ing with you.”
View this post on Instagram
Riley believed that Haslem addressing the officials as referees might have made them feel a little disrespected and if he wanted them to stop “f**king with him,“ it was about time he learned their names. The advice worked wonders and the rookie learned why Riley is revered as one of the sharpest minds in NBA history.
However, he also has a reputation for being a hard taskmaster and O’Neal learned that firsthand when he joined the Heat in 2004.
Shaquille O’Neal breathed life into the Miami Heat camp
After leading the Lakers to three straight NBA titles, the center got away with shenanigans most players would be severely punished for. However, when he was traded to the Heat in 2004, he had to prove his mettle again to earn the impunity he enjoyed in LA.
But he quickly learned that it won’t be an easy task. In his book, Shaq Uncut, he wrote,
“I don’t want to call Miami a jail, but everyone was walking around on eggshells. They were all scared of Pat [Riley]. I went in there hoping to give them some life. I wasn’t afraid of anybody—not even the great Pat Riley.”
O’Neal and Riley ensured their personality differences did not affect their relationship as co-workers as they were focused solely on winning the NBA title. They achieved their goal in 2006 and have been on great terms since.
