Who did Shaquille O’Neal name as his worst teammate ever?
As good as he was on the boards, the big man made it clear that his forme teammate was almost impossible to play with during their time together.
The Lakers legend has never been one to mince words and in a recent appearance, he made it quite clear who was not high on his list of favorite people.
Shaquille O’Neal names Dennis Rodman worst teammate ever
In a NBA career that has seen him play with six different franchises across 20 years to the tune of four NBA titles, Shaquille O’Neal has seen his share of teammates. Indeed, those teammates have even included many stars from the late Kobe Bryant, to Penny Hardaway to the trash talking king himself, Gary Payton. There is, however, one teammate in particular that Shaq had some choice words for during a recent episode of ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq.’ Speaking openly about which of his teammates was the worst, Shaq left no doubt.
“Worst teammate? Dennis Rodman,” O’Neal said. “He was a great player, but he made it hard. Like when you try to corral the guys together and the people above you [are] letting this one guy do whatever he wants. So, we had to be there an hour before the game. He’d come in fifteen minutes before the game eating chicken and rice. While the coaches are talking, he would jump in the shower. Cold shower. Come and give you 15-20 rebounds.”
Does Dennis Rodman deserve the tag? Probably
Though many will point, to his well-documented beef with the aforementioned Kobe Bryant, the difference is Kobe’s demanding nature and drive were what made him difficult to deal with, not his antics. What’s more, is that O’Neal has long since expressed regret over the way in which he and Bryant dealt with their relationship at a time when both were superstars in the league. To that end, the big man would go on to become fiercely protective of Kobe and a major advocate for the late legend.
This of course brings us to Rodman, who in his prime was no doubt one of, if not the best defensive player we’ve seen in modern league history. Yet, in his prime he was not when he joined the Lakers. With that said, one has to imagine that his eccentricities and frequent escapes to Las Vegas were looked upon with less tolerance when he could only must about one quarter of a season. In reality, Rodman and O’Neal didn’t spend a long time playing together, but it was certainly enough - 23 games in total - for O’Neal to get a good look before they were eliminated in the 1998-99 season in the Western Conference semifinals by eventual champions, the San Antonio Spurs.