Shaquille O’Neal has been known as the most dominant player to ever set foot on the court. During his prime, the other team could consider themselves as a man short in the game. His backboard-breaking dunks instilled fear in the heart of the opponents. Hence, nobody wanted to experience the wrath of the Big Man’s unstoppable game and fiery temper. However, while many superstars refrained from engaging with the Los Angeles Lakers legend, one popular face from Hollywood had incredible guts to let Shaq feel the heat on the court.

The Lakers legend had his own way of dealing with things, a major reason why everyone avoided confrontation with Shaq. However, some did realize that Shaq had to be dealt with in a language that was crystal clear to him. Hence, a three-time Emmy winner decided to take matters into his own hands by dropping F-bombs on one of the most terrifying players on the court.

Shaquille O’Neal was taken to the cleaners by a popular actor during his playing days

Shaq and Kobe Bryant dominated the NBA on will, their partnership at the turn of the century was one to look out for. However sometimes, they could be easily stopped, courtesy of their team’s Big Man and his kryptonite – free throws. 

The four-time NBA Champion had a relatively poor free throw shooting percentage, an established fact during Shaq’s playing days. Hence, the fans who were going gaga over the Big Aristotle dunking over his opponents in one minute, had their heads in their hands when he stood on the free throw line in the other minute.

In a recent episode of The Big Shaq, an old friend of the Lakers legend recounted his days of supporting the purple and gold from the “celebrity row” at the Staples Center. Shaq narrated a hilarious incident where his friend and actor, Jeremy Piven, did the unthinkable by talking down the NBA superstar for missing free throws.

“Y’all call him Jeremy, we’re personal friends, I call him JP,” said Shaq after Piven had some encouraging words for the 51-year-old’s physique. The Big Man added, “JP knows when I put my mind to it… JP used to be one of the guys that used to curse me out when I didn’t make free throws, like ‘bend your f****n knee, bend your f*****g knee Shaq’… He knows as soon as I put my mind to it, it will get done.”

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Throughout the years, fans and pundits scratched their heads at the Lakers legend’s poor shooting. While some thought he didn’t practice enough, a few years ago, the Lakers no. 34 mentioned a completely unusual reason behind his poor free throws.

Shaq talks about his pan-career abysmal free throws

Although various theories were suggested, such as his height and large hands, O’Neal had an entirely different explanation for his disappointing success rate from the free throw line.

Back in 2017, the Big Man mentioned how it was god’s way of “keeping him humble”. It seems like even the Lakers legend was tired of figuring out why he was bad at making free throws. However, if he really believes in the theory, he might wonder why the “man upstairs” blocked him from getting 50 pts every game.

Do you remember seeing Jeremy Piven courtside back in the day? Were you frustrated with Shaq’s free throws like JP? Let us know in the comment below!

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