“Carrying Shaq Shoes.. Size 24 and Sh*t”: Rookie Duties for LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal Was Once 3x NBA Champ’s Only Job

Rookie duties are a huge part of the NBA. But, in recent times, there’s a lot of hate towards these “initiation rites”. And with good reason. The alphas of the NBA were too happy to carry on the tradition of hazing. Primarily, it was Shaquille O’Neal. He has always been a bully and the rookie duties gave him the leeway, officially. LeBron James was also involved in this tradition, but he was always mindful of the rookies. So, it was a positive experience.

In a recent podcast episode, a three-time NBA champion talks about his rookie duties. And yes, they involve two of the biggest names – O’Neal and King James.

Danny Green’s rookie duties

The Philadelphia 76ers forward Danny Green was not an exception to the rookie duties either. In the ‘Run Your Race’ podcast with Pinson and Richardson, Green says his job as a rookie was “getting the donuts … carrying Shaq shoes for size 24 and sh*t”. 

In Green’s own words, it was a “humbling experience”. Apart from this, Danny went through a lot to get where he is now. Being cut off after intense, rigorous training and injuries; every hurdle that a basketball player could possibly go through, he went through them all. Though Danny Green did not face too much trouble in the rookie phase, others weren’t too lucky. Especially Shaq’s victims.

Shaquille O’Neal, the ultimate bully of the NBA

There is a long list of players who Shaq pissed off. In the ‘Big Podcast with Shaq’, Spice and Nischelle, the Big Diesel says, “I was mean, and I was dirty, but I wasn’t that dirty, so it’s not true”. 

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Add to it the fact that Shaq himself admitted he was “never hazed” on the Bleacher Report YouTube channel (a clip from the American Express Halftime Report). All he said was, “I’m the franchise player”, and nobody bothered him. O’Neal, though, didn’t extend that gratitude to the rookies who came after him. He did everything he could do on the court and off the court to make sure they had a difficult time. Shaq’s bully list is pretty long. It includes the following names: Dikembe Mutombo, Charles Barkley, Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, Kyrie Irving, Scott Skiles, Steve Nash, and more. He might have donned the clown cap now, but in his prime years, he was nothing short of an angry young man.

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