One of the most important things in sports is respect, and it matters a lot more in team sports. Rookies that come into NBA rosters are often asked to do several things by their veterans, including menial tasks like carrying their bags and getting them food. And while there are very few exceptions to this rule, not every player is your average rookie, especially not Shaquille O’Neal.
Shaq entered the league in 1992 as the No. 1 overall pick and there was no doubt at all that he would be one of the greatest to ever do it. O’Neal was a franchise player as soon as he entered the league, and he knew it. So when Scott Skiles tried to make Shaq do some rookie duties, it backfired on him quite hard. Shaq told the story of his reaction to being asked to carry Skiles’ bags on ‘The Big Podcast With Shaq’.
“Scott Skiles came one day and said, ‘Hey, carry my bags’. I said I’m no rookie, I’m a franchise player. I told him to his face. Anybody thinking about making me carry their bags, you better shut your mouth, or part two of my killing spree gonna happen here upon your a**.”
Shaquille O’Neal entered the league as an All-Star, winning the honor in his rookie year after averaging over 23 points and 13 rebounds per game in his first season. Players of that caliber are incredibly important to teams in the NBA, and it’s no wonder that O’Neal knew how good he was and acted like it since Day 1.
It wasn’t the hazing of rookies Shaq was against though, as he enjoyed doing it to rookies later in his career, even going so far as to douse some rookies with his urine. When you’re the Big Diesel and one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA, I guess you can get away with just about whatever you want to do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pdd-Fykt2Y
