Unafraid of 7ft 1″ Shaquille O’Neal, 6ft 4″ Gary Payton Reiterates How He Fought ‘Shaq Diesel’ to Let Dwyane Wade Be the ‘Alpha’

The NBA is a highly competitive league, where every decision made, whether by a player or by a team, is often in the interest of winning. With the competition so intense, it’s hard to see players form a bond that not only lasts off the court, but sustains the challenges on the court as well. That’s exactly what Shaquille O’Neal and Gary Payton had. 7ft 1″ Shaq Diesel had an excellent camaraderie with the 6ft 4″ Glove. They’re still excellent friends, as we got to witness on The Big Podcast recently.

While on the Big Podcast, The Glove and Shaq talked about the ‘Heat Culture‘ and how they were the ones to start it. Along with that, GP also reiterated the story of how he convinced Shaq to let Dwyane Wade be the ‘Alpha’ on the Heat, which resulted in the 2006 Championship.

Gary Payton fought with Shaquille O’Neal over Dwyane Wade and the Heat

Shaquille O’Neal and Gary Payton were teammates on two different teams. First, he was on the 2003-04 Lakers, which lost in the Finals to the Detroit Pistons. Shaq couldn’t win his 4th and help GP win his first ring back then. He then pleaded GP to join him in Miami. Although reluctant at first, Payton agreed and joined the Heat. Once he was there, he sensed a pattern similar to what he’d witnessed in Los Angeles. This led to a big fight between him and Shaq, after which, Shaq Diesel let Dwyane Wade handle the reins and lead the team to the 2006 championship.

While on the Big Podcast, Nischelle Turner asked GP to spill the beans and share what actually happened. Payton said,

“Me and Shaq, we fight in a different way. I just went to big fella and said, “Look big fella, you nicknamed this young kid Flash. I seen y’all last year, y’all lost in the Eastern Conference Finals. Y’all bring us all up in here. Trust me on this, you’re putting too much on your shoulders, and we’re getting older. Let’s just play behind him[Dwyane Wade]. Shaq you get it in when you have to, and I’ll still look for you. We just gotta have a dude that’s gon boom boom boom. Give us a little oomph, and he was giving us that oomph.””

“Shaq was like, “Hell no man, I’m the Diesel. SHAQ DIESEL!”

“I was like, “I don’t care. You gon mess it up. You gon listen, or you don’t want us to win a championship!”

Shaq said, “Whatever, alright. If he gon mess up, we gon’ fight.”

GP took that chance on DWade, and it paid off. Shaquille O’Neal got his 4th Championship, and Payton got his 1st.

Shaq thanked Gary Payton for hitting the biggest shot of Shaq’s career

It was Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals. The Mavericks were up 2-0, and the score was tied at 95. With the time running down, GP found himself with the ball, just a step or two inside the 3-point line. He knocked down the jumper and helped the Heat win their first game of the series. From there, the Heat won three straight games and eventually became the 2006 NBA Champions.

Talking about the same on the podcast, Shaq called it the biggest shot of his career, and thanked GP for hitting it. He credited GP for helping him get his 4th ring, and at the same time, getting his first.

It’s great to see how Shaq and GP continue to stay such close friends, even after so many years.