Alvin Gentry: Shaquille O'Neal Used to Spar Naked With Teammates [VIDEO]
Nothing can no longer surprise the public what antics Shaquille O'neal is up to, given his reputation as a prankster and a funny guy.
During his Phoenix and Cleveland days, he made famous some pre-game antics such as the bowling ball or the carry the heavy Shaq to the floor. He even unintentionally cursed on national television during a pre-game interview after a win over the Toronto Raptors. Heck, he went as far as using sprayed on abs for his shirt-off competition against Charles Barkley.
Golden State Warriors coach Alvin Gentry's revelations in a recent interview with ESPN takes the whole cake. Shaquille apparently scheduled a weekly impromptu jiu-jitsu wrestling matches with his teammates with one condition - stark-naked jiu-jitsu!
Shaq's discipline in mixed martial arts is not in question here as he has trained for years in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and he is a sworn Golden Beach Police Officer to boot. Well, he may be the law and he enforces it in style with his former Phoenix Suns teammates and coaches.
"You would never know who the chosen one was, but what would happen when you least expect it, this 7-foot, 310-pound guy would turn the corner, and he would be stark naked and he would run right at you full speed, grab you, he would take you to the floor and then he would do about five rollovers with you." Gentry said.
Not even Gentry was spared from the prank as he jokingly told of having to go through therapy after rolling five times with a 7-foot-3, 320 pound most dominant ever. Now, if that happened to Steve Nash imagine the hilarity.
Well maybe, the Big Cactus, the term he used to call himself during his Phoenix Suns stint, may be able to pull off the trick with unsuspecting smaller opponents but one will wonder how he will ever fare in the actual Octagon. He did have a "fighting chance" against Chuck Liddell.
Now that Shaq is retired from the NBA, maybe hold true to his word and do battle in the UFC. If he does, he'll surely need better training partners than unsuspecting and terrified basketball players. Well, if he cannot come to the Octagon, we will always have this:
(Video Courtesy of: Youtube/9cullen)