Shaquille O’Neal‘s four-year tenure in South Beach ended unceremoniously when he got traded to the Phoenix Suns midway through the 2007-08 campaign.
We all know what happened. Shaq and Miami Heat president Pat Riley, who was also their coach at the time, got into an altercation over a tardy Jason Williams. But during his recent appearance on the Straight Game podcast, O’Neal revealed the exact words he said to Riley that caused him to be shipped out of Miami immediately.
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“One day, Jason Williams came late. Remember, we used to have that clock?” Shaq said to Mike Bibby. “Jason Williams came half a second late. He was like, “Hey man, you need to get out.” I told Jason we’re not doing that cuz that’s when he got rid of Antoine and my guys and had a regular team. We was losing like crazy. So he told J-Dub to get out. I said, “No, we’re not getting out.” He said, “Well, you get out.” I said, “Motherf—–r, put me out.” So he got into a little scuffle, and the next day, I was traded.”
Riley already had an axe to grind against Williams
The 2007-08 season was the worst in Pat Riley’s coaching career, as the Heat won only 15 games two years after they were NBA champions. Miami got off to a slow start, and after they were 8-19 on December 22, they went on a 15-game losing streak from Christmas Day 2007 to January 24, 2008, which was the second-longest skid in franchise history.
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With all the pressure on him and his reputation on the line, it wasn’t surprising that Riley was a fuse about to blow. And per Williams’ story, as told last year on The OGs Show, Riley already had something against him before that fateful day. “White Chocolate” said he was always one of the first players to arrive in practice, usually 10 minutes before it started, but that day, Riley was there 15 minutes before call time, so naturally”, J-Will” was late.
But Shaq stood up for Williams because he felt he was responsible for him being on that team. However, Riley was ready for smoke that day, and no one would get in his way, not even Shaq. So when O’Neal blurted out the magic words, he and his head coach nearly came to blows after Riley slapped away Shaq’s finger that was pointed at him.
The Heat were 1-19 in their last 20 games when it happened
That incident must have happened on February 5, 2008, because Shaq was traded to the Suns on February 6, and the Heat didn’t have a game on the 5th after playing the Toronto Raptors on February 4. Miami lost to Toronto in that game, their fourth straight loss after snapping that 15-game losing streak. With a 1-19 record in their last 20 games, you can just imagine the level of frustration that everybody had, especially Riles and Shaq, who were key figures in their 2006 title run.
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“I’m very excited to be here. I just want to fit in with a damn good team,” O’Neal said at a news conference after getting traded.”I’m just here to make everyone else better. I wanted it to happen because I was coming to a fabulous team. Helping them get to the next level will be exciting.”
Back then, Shaq made it appear like he wanted a trade to the Suns because he still had something to offer that could turn them into a title team. However, while he may have been contemplating leaving Miami because they were struggling that year, the decision to send him to The Valley on February 6, 2008, was not his to make but Riley’s. Because the Godfather always has the last say in Miami.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.