7x Champ Once Rejected Shaquille O’Neal’s Team-Up Offer Only to Placate Ex-Wife and Avoid Facing 1 Fear

There aren’t many people who’ll say no to Shaquille O’Neal. The gentle giant is one of the most accomplished athletes in the world. However, Shaq’s reputation mattered little to Robert Horry, when he was asked by the Big Man for a reunion. Although he had to say no to Shaq, Horry had several reasons to turn him down.

Horry and Shaq were teammates previously in the LA Lakers‘ three-peat era. Once the Big Man went to the Miami Heat in 2004, he wanted to bring in one of his ex-teammates. However, Horry had to decline the offer that could have added another championship to his resume because of his ex-wife and Pat Riley.

Robert Horry considered Shaquille O’Neal’s offer

On the latest episode of the Big Shot Bob podcast, the 7x NBA champion recalled getting that call from Shaq. The Big Man was still fresh out of his three-peat campaign with the Lakers. After everything that had gone down with the franchise and the late great Kobe Bryant, Shaq was adamant about proving his worth outside of LA. For that, he needed to win a championship and after Horry’s championship-winning campaign in 2005 with the San Antonio Spurs, he thought the 6’10 forward would be great by his side.

Horry said, “I don’t know if you remember, but he[Shaq] asked me to come down to Miami. It was after the 2005 season, I just had a good season with the Spurs and I was a free agent”. The former NBA star did give it a fair amount of thought, however, in the end, his ex-wife decided that he would not go. Horry recalled talking to her about this at the time and she said, “F**K NO. You’re not going to Miami.”

There was, however, one more reason why he didn’t want to go to the Heat.

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Robert Horry was afraid of Pat Riley

Despite such an opportunity and a special invitation in his hand, Horry had his reasons to turn it down. The 53-year-old said that he did give it a lot of thought but there was something that scared him off. The 7x NBA champion said, “Pat Riley had all these rules”, where he required his athletes to be in shape and have a specified amount of body fat.

With all this in mind, Horry ended up staying in San Antonio and won another championship in 2007. Apart from all of these reasons, the fact that he was closer to his family while playing for the Spurs made his decision easier for him.

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