When LeBron James Fell Into Shaquille O’Neal’s Lap and Stayed There

The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has been a host to several legends over the years. They have also had their share of controversies and unexpected friendships. However, it is rare to see players saving other players from getting hurt. We look back at a moment in history, when Shaquille O’Neal saved LeBron James from injury.

When Shaquille O’Neal caught LeBron James

Even though the two played together for a brief amount of time for the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal may never have shared a deep bond of friendship. At most, the two share an average relationship.

However, recently Shaq left LeBron out of his ‘Big Three’ team in which he included Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and himself. He said he wouldn’t prefer LeBron. However, one can’t say that the two have beef. LeBron also joked about Shaq’s hair, saying that for every free throw he missed, a hair fell off his head.

Shaq didn’t seem to take offence. So, we can conclude they have pretty laid-back attitudes with each other. Shaq has been supporting LeBron from a long time. And quiet literally too!

It was Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. 1 June 2013, the Miami Heat matched up against the Indiana Pacers.

During the third quarter, Mario Chalmers decided to take an easy layup himself. Unfortunately, he missed it badly. With no prominent defense stopping him, Chalmers technically should not have missed that point. The rebound caused the ball to almost go out of bounds. LeBron jumped to try and save the ball, rather dramatically. The current Lakers star ended up throwing the ball inside the court. However, it hit a Pacers player and went into Indiana’s hands.

As James threw the ball inside the court, he lost balance and fell into Shaq’s lap. James’ 325 lb former teammate broke his fall and prevented him from getting hurt.

Even though the ball had changed hands, LeBron did not get up to go after the ball immediately. Instead, he looked rather disappointed in Chalmers.

Well, it seems like the duo had a rather mild rollercoaster of a relationship over the years. With Shaq’s several occupations and LeBron in a veteran phase, we wonder how the former and current Lakers’ stars’ relationship will proceed.