“He goes to Jay Rich, ‘Jay Rich, you got a fat a**, man’… Shaq was nasty” - Grant Hill on Shaquille O'Neal’s behavior in the locker room, says it was constant humor
Shaquille O'Neal provides humor alongside Charles Barkley on "Inside the NBA" today, but Grant Hill said that's how Shaq was in the locker room, too.
Hill and O'Neal were teammates on the Phoenix Suns, where Hill got to see who Shaq was as a person. During a recent "All the Smoke" episode, Hill told several stories about playing with O'Neal.
"I mean, there's so many stories, man," Hill said. "I remember one time, we're in the showers after practice and he goes to Jay Rich (Jason Richardson): 'Jay Rich, you got a fat a**, man.' I'm like, 'How do you come back?' Like, what does Jay Rich do man? You know what I'm saying? Shaq was just ... he was funny. He was nasty. He was crazy.
"And we had poor Terry Porter. Man, he had no chance."
While telling a teammate that they have a big rear end is one thing, Hill told a story about Shaq and Terry Porter:
"So, Terry Porter. We're in a film session, and we're watching film in the film room. He stopped the film like, "Shaq, don't you think you could come over from the weak side and maybe block the shot right here?" Shaq would be like, 'TP, I'm top five all-time in the NBA in shot blocks. I think I know when I can block a shot.'
"Like the disrespect, the craziness, but so calm though."
Shaquille O'Neal's sense of humor means that he can make jokes in any situation
While Shaquille O'Neal had no problems taking jabs and making funny jokes at teammates, he would do so in other situations. Grant Hill told a story about some of the jokes O'Neal would make at practice.
"Couple times, he'd show up late," Hill said. "Man this is bad, too. He would show up late to practice, and no one would be bothered, because it's Shaq." He would show up late and like, 'Coach, sorry, man, the passport truck tipped over on 51, man. They were Mexicans everywhere.' That's why I'm late to practice."
Ultimately, Hill pointed out how much humor there was playing with O'Neal despite the lack of team success together.
"It was constant humor man, and and he just kept it light," Hill said. "He was fine. He was crazy. We didn't make the playoffs, but you know he was in the time."
O'Neal tries to maintain that same humor on "Inside the NBA."
.@DwyaneWade: "What do you call a cow on the floor?"
@SHAQ: "Charles Barkley"
The dad jokes were flowing in Studio J 😭😂 https://t.co/JvcnKx3UaQ
O'Neal delivers funny jokes and jabs on television, just like he did in the locker room.