Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel does not have the make-up of the average NFL head coach. At age 40 he is one of the youngest NFL head coaches ever. He is also about 180 pounds soaking wet. It explains why retired NBA star Shaquille O’Neal initially did not believe McDaniel when he revealed he was the Dolphins coach.
“He’s like a slim fella and he said, ‘Shaq, I’m the coach from the Dolphins.’ And I looked at him like he was crazy, like, ‘Bruh,'” Shaq recalled. “And one day I was watching TV and I was like, ‘He is the coach!'” O’Neal recalled.
“Yo, he looks like a kid. I’m used to seeing the brawny coaches. When he came up to me and said, ‘Shaq, I’m the coach of the Dolphins,’ I was like, ‘Yeah, OK, whatever. Nice to meet you.’ So, Coach, I owe you an apology. I hope you guys make it to the Super Bowl. I apologize!”
O’Neal Recalls 2004 Trade to Miami Heat
Shaq is a fixture in Florida. He was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 1992 and after winning three titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004. It was a surprising move after he and Kobe Bryant had become the NBA’s most dominant tandems. Shaq recalled how the trade went down.
“Mr. [Jerry] Buss called me and said, `Hey man, I love you. Understand that you don’t want to take less money; Miami is interested,”‘ O’Neal said. “OK, I’ll go to Miami. Thank you, sir, cool with me… business of basketball!”
Shaq Calls Out Analyst for Kobe Bryant Take
One reason Shaq was ready to leave the Lakers was because things went sour between him and Kobe. But the two Hall of Famers reconciled before Kobe’s untimely passing in 2020.
During a recent appearance on the Stephen A. Smith show, Shaq took issue with the famed analyst about where he places Kobe among the all-time greats.
“You guys just throw him out of the conversation. So, somehow it just went from Mike to LeBron, and you just threw my guy out of the conversation,” Shaq said. “His name needs to be in there all the time. And when his name is not in there, that’s when people have a problem.”