Shaquille O’Neal Regularly Tackled A Cavaliers’ Trainer As A Prank During Practices

George Sibel, the Cavs' physical therapist worked closely with Shaq was a victim of the big man's playful tackles.

4 Min Read

Credit: Fadeaway World

Shaquille O’Neal has a proven track record as a mischief-maker. His mantra of making people laugh has seen him pull some fun stunts and often in good taste.

He can be playful too as his Cleveland Cavaliers trainer found out the hard way when the big man would tackle him during their training sessions.

According to Brian Windhorst, everyone around Shaq were targets at some point or another. In the site’s stories that see a collection of some of the writers’ best Shaq stories, the insider had a tale about the time the center was with the Cavaliers.

George Sibel, the Cavs’ physical therapist worked closely with Shaq when the latter injured his thumb that saw him sidelined for two months. The rehab sessions also saw the duo workout together and Windhorst revealed how he would tackle his trainer who was lighter and shorter than he was.

“Shaq developed a penchant for tackling Sibel at any moment, especially when he wasn’t looking,” the analyst wrote. “In practices, in the locker room, in hotel lobbies, during breakfast meetings, Sibel was always at risk for being grabbed from behind and smothered on the ground or, worse, hung upside down by his feet.”

This had everyone around them in splits, and safe to say, Shaq’s idea of making everyone laugh would come to fruition each time he pounced on Sibel.


Charles Barkley Relives Shaquille O’Neal’s Earlier Days At TNT

Former NBA star Charles Barkley and Shaq make quite the comedy duo. Their camaraderie on TNT’s ‘Inside The NBA’ is well-documented and both haven’t shied away from taking friendly digs at each other.

Barkley has seen Shaq for a long time now and the two have spent considerable time on the screen. The former 76ers star relived the time Shaq was new to TNT and how he would conjure up activities to entertain the audience.

“He’s got a pure heart,” Barkley told Matt Barnes on ‘All The Smoke’. “But man when he first came there, the thing that was really funny…he come like the first night and he’d do something funny, the second night he’d do something funny. The third night he’d do something funny, then he’d say “Hey, I need you guys. I wanna try this next week!”

There’s no doubt that Shaq the entertainer will stop anytime soon. He’s a household name for being one of the best entertainers there were during his playing days and even off the court. And he’s still one’s best bet to get someone to laugh when the chips are down.

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Aaron Abhishek is an NBA columnist for Fadeaway World. He graduated from St. Joseph's College with a Bachelor's in Visual Communication and a Master's in journalism.His passion for the sport began when he saw Michael Jordan take his final shot in the NBA, and he considers himself fortunate to have been a part of the Kobe Bryant era. Now he writes basketball news and analysis while waiting for the Los Angeles Lakers to win their 18th title.When not watching and writing basketball, you can find Aaron suited to play cricket, putting in some hard yards at the gym, trying a new coffee, and supporting Arsenal. Expertise: NBAFavorite Team: Los Angeles LakersPrevious Work: MEAWW, Blue Man Hoop, Sportskeeda
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