Having Battled Shaquille O’Neal 81 Times, NBA Champ Once Disclosed Unusual Tactics Set in Place Just for 7ft Giant

At the prime of his NBA career, Shaquille O’Neal could terrorize many an opponent. One of his biggest on-court rivals would claim to nurse bruises after playing against Big Diesel. But there was one instance where even Shaq was backed into a corner. The one who gets the bragging rights has made no secret of his admiration for O’Neal. And he did it again when he appeared on the Underdog NBA podcast. This time, he would claim that he learned from the biggest of the big men to take on Shaq.

Throwing it back to 2005, the podcast relived the Eastern Conference Finals game between the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons. Shaq and the Heat lost, and he was also dominated by a longtime rival.

When a 6’11 center dominated Shaquille O’Neal

Underdog NBA hosted Rasheed Wallace this year. It warranted bringing up May 23, 2005, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Heat had Shaquille O’Neal for a second season. The Pistons counterpart Rasheed Wallace was also in his second season. The 6’11” player had a record 81 face-offs with Shaq during their respective careers.

O’Neal’s physical dominance left Wallace aching in many places in  those times. The only way for him  to cope after their on-court altercations was, “sitting in my locker, I got ice. Ice on my knee, ice on both my ankles, and I’m just sitting there like this,” he said.

“He’s still a dominant force,” he says about Heat-era Shaq. “Back in those LA days, he was still the best athlete by far on Earth.”

Knowing he was outweighed by his nemesis, Wallace turned to teammate, Ben “Big Ben” Wallace to level up against Shaq. According to Sheed, the other Wallace had the skills to guard O’Neal and he learned the art from him.

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The reigning champions, Pistons won 90-81 that night. O’Neal played with a bruised right thigh and made four shots in the opener, scoring a total of 20 points in the game. The Detroit defense though gave him a hard time and Sheed got to flex his redemption over Shaq.

It’s no wonder Wallace says this was his favorite series of his career.

Fast forward to the ECF Game 1, Wallace did his job with vigor, “Stretch him, keep him from the basket.” The Heat were outmatched by Sheed’s squad and won. This would be the only matchup against O’Neal that left Rasheed Wallace satisfied.

Rasheed Wallace’s sore point with Shaq

Having the responsibility of guarding Shaq could make any player quake in their special edition sneakers.

A soccer legend is still not over the 2001 finals where Big Aristotle bodychecked Dikembe Mutombo out of the way.

But Wallace didn’t want the same fate. He upgraded in 2005 with the Pistons regimen. Shaq couldn’t bulldoze him this time. “And man let me tell you this, after this game or after this series I, didn’t have to ice my elbows and my back and my knees and my feet and everything.”

Regardless, Wallace stayed humble and claimed he still can’t match up to O’Neal in his prime. According to him, he dominated him in 2005 because he was older and injured. This loss would prompt Heat’s head honcho, Pat Riley to recalibrate.

The next season, Shaq was having the last laugh and a fourth championship title.

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