“I Literally Could Not Breathe”: 7ft Giant Shaquille O’Neal Once Left Veteran HoF Photographer Struggling for Air After Huge Collision

Every basketball fan in the world wants to witness their favorite player in real-time at least once. Being courtside to see your favorite team and star in action might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. One might even think that the officials present courtside have the best jobs in the world. Turns out nothing comes without its very own drawbacks. A HoF photographer, in a conversation with a 7x NBA Champion, elaborated on the time when he almost got crushed by the 7 ft tall, 320+ lbs Shaquille O’Neal in a game.

During his time in the league, O’Neal had the most intimidating presence on the court. The sight of the NBA icon coming towards you would scare anyone, and that was the case with Andrew D. Berstein as well.

Shaquille O’Neal fell flat on poor photographer

Robert Horry, after winning seven NBA Championships, seems to be enjoying his time off the court. Horry recently welcomed a celebrated Hall of Fame photographer Andrew D. Bernstein to ‘The Big Shot Bob Podcast’. Bernstein has famously documented professional sports for four decades. He shared a rather hilarious yet terrifying anecdote of the time when Shaq almost crushed him to death.

Bernstein said, “I’m about six feet away from where these guys are playing under the basket and there was one play where he went up and got hacked in mid-air and sort of lost his balance, and took a couple of off-balance steps and literally fell right on me. And we were face to face, like pancakes, and I literally could not breathe. He took the wind out of me. I got lenses embedded on my chest, you know?”

Bernstein hilariously reminisced about the moment he was almost crushed to death. Even Horry could see the funny side to it. However, no one would want the 15x NBA All-Star to take a tumble upon them.

Shaquille O’Neal courtside’s accidents

Shaquille O’Neal has had various courtside accidents throughout the course of his career. No one wants to get kneed on the face by the Big Diesel. There have been some unfortunate people who got crushed under the seven-foot giant when he went to retrieve the ball before it went out of play.

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Moreover, O’Neal has also destroyed multiple rings in his life. The sheer size and power of the 51-year-old was a sight to behold back in the day. Claiming that he is the most dominant player in league history won’t be a stretch.

Experiencing a basketball game courtside is a lifetime opportunity. But it comes with its very own cons. Would you be willing to sit courtside to experience Shaq in action? Let us know in the comments below.

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