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NBA Hall of Famer, Shaquille O’Neal is the life of the party.
A 19-year NBA veteran and four-time NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, he was the NBA’s Rookie of The Year in 1992 when he was a member of the Orlando Magic.
Coached by Brian Hill, the Shaq-led Magic team had Penny Hardaway, Nick Anderson, Horace Grant and Dennis Scott on their roster.
Shaq had a reputation for being a practical joker on that team.
No surprise there. He still is!
Remember that Dallas Cowboys prank call he made to Stephen A. Smith back in January?
The fun doesn’t end here. Retroactively, Shaq was funny.
Such was the case when O’Neal pranked a former Orlando Magic teammate while he was in the shower.
In case you’re wondering: that teammate became a current NBA coach.
Appearing on the Scoop B & Reg Podcast, retired Orlando Magic player, Anthony Avent tells Reginald Calixte and I that Shaq hid said players hair gel in the shower.
“It was a white guy who always put the gel in his hair because it puts everything back in place,” Avent told us on Scoop B & Reg.
“Then when he got out the shower, Shaq hid all the gel. So his hair was all over the place and he could not get his hair in order to go out in public and greet his family and everybody because Shaq hid all of his gel!”
Translation: said player could not style his hair and it was a big mess!
“I don’t know if you know what I mean when I say his hair was out of order,” said Avent.
Million Dollar Question: Who was this teammate?
“It was Scott Brooks,” Avent tells Scoop B & Reg.
The Scott Brooks that Avent is referring to is current Washington Wizards head coach, Scott Brooks.
He and O’Neal were teammates in Orlando….or were they?
When the heck did he have time to play for the Orlando Magic?
Brooks played 10 seasons (1988–1998) in the NBA, appearing as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers and was a member of Houston’s 1994 NBA Championship team.
It looks like Brooks didn’t actually play for the Orlando Magic. Who else named Scott did?
After taking a cursory look through Google: Scott Skiles played for the Orlando Magic and he is Caucasian.
He fits Avent’s description minus the last name.
The NBA’s Most Improved Player in 1991, Skiles once set an NBA record for the most assists in a game with 30.
The Michigan State product would later become the Orlando Magic’s 12th head coach after stints coaching the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns.
In case you’re interested, he was also the real deal on NBA Jam.
Scott Skiles, NBA Jam legend, for Orlando Magic coach? Not against that. http://t.co/4aawRvq44x
As for the Shaq pranking incident? Said player named Scott looked horrible: “He had to go out there and greet his family,” said Avent.
“And they’re looking like: ‘what is going on?'”
Watching today’s Orlando Magic in the NBA Playoffs may give some millenials nostalgic flashbacks. Remember their NBA Finals appearance in 1995 against the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Houston Rockets?
They’d lose. BUT that Shaq and Hakeem Olajuwon matchup at the Center position was must see TV!
Reminiscing about those Shaq and Penny Orlando Magic days is pretty cool to do. But many often ask: “what if Shaq hadn’t left the Magic to join the Los Angeles Lakers?”
Years later, many could ask the same about the Oklahoma City Thunder team that had went to the NBA Finals in 2012 and had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden on their roster.
As for Shaq…well, be on set in your livingroom during pre and post game coverage and Inside the NBA during the NBA Playoffs. It’s likely there will be no dull moment.