Shaquille O’Neal was the last person any rookie would’ve wanted to encounter. The 4x NBA champ had a reputation for extreme levels of rookie hazing. But it’s not as if the seasoned players had complete immunity. Don’t believe us? However, there was this one rookie who not only managed to land in Shaq’s good books but also earned his respect.

The player in the discussion is Mike Miller. “Shaq opened up his doors to me when I was in Orlando as a rookie. I went there and worked out of his house with T-Mac… I appreciate you doing that for me…” Miller said on The OGs. Adding to this, Shaq stated when he first met Mike, the 2x NBA champ showed him respect and he reciprocated in a similar manner.

The 15x All-Star further mentioned all that the Orlando Magic rookie wanted at the time was for Shaq to let him work out in his gym. “Young fella looks up to me, respectful. I’m already letting T-Mac in there… And it ain’t even about the respect thing. It’s about man versus man. He approached man respectfully. I approach him back respectfully,” Shaq said. This was something that not every rookie was lucky enough to have with the 7’1″ player.

Those who have followed Shaquille O’Neal through his career would know he even had allegations of using buckets as a bathroom and then pouring them down on rookie players on the team. However, how you approached the 15x All-Star actually used to make a difference, even if it was his own seasoned teammate. No lies from Shaquille O’Neal there. One wrong move by Scott Skiles, and he had it from Big Diesel, as revealed by Skiles himself to the Chicago Tribune in 2004.

The incident had Shaq getting involved in a scuffle with another teammate during the practice. “I got tired of everybody separating them. I went over and said, ‘Why don’t you guys stop [faking it] and just fight?’ Then he took a swing at me… Many punches landed… When I charged [O’Neal], he had me by the neck in a headlock. My neck was sore for like six weeks,” Skiles stated. However, as mentioned earlier, there was nothing that the right approach couldn’t solve with Shaq.

Shaquille O’Neal and Scott Skiles had no hard feelings after their practice scuffle

In the intense atmosphere of an NBA locker room, where egos and reputations are always on the line, it would have been easy for Shaq and Skiles to hold a grudge after their practice altercation. But surprisingly, time revealed something different—these two grew to respect each other deeply.

Looking back, the 15x All-Star admitted that he always appreciated Skiles’ fiery attitude. You could feel his respect as he described Skiles as the best point guard he ever played with. He recalled how Scott never backed down, something that truly earned his admiration.

“I could put my hand up anywhere on the court, and Scott would make sure the ball got there,” Shaq once stated. On the other side, Skiles had fond memories of Big Diesel. He spoke about how playing alongside the big man made his job on the court so much easier. Can you imagine what it must’ve been like to go from a struggling team to having a dominant force like Shaq by your side?

For Skiles, it meant focusing less on running exhausting plays and more on finding open shots. “With Shaq, I could spot up and shoot instead of running 50 pick-and-rolls,” Skiles said. Now, even though some may claim the 7’1″ player was a bully at a time, the two incidents make it clear that the right approach with Shaq could’ve made things easier.