In his quest to win more NBA championships than former teammate Kobe Bryant , Shaquille O’Neal joined the Miami Heat to be coached by the great Pat Riley .
In 3 and a half seasons, the Diesel fulfilled his promise of winning a championship when he and the young franchise star Dwyane Wade combined to lift the 2006 edition of the Larry O’Bri
en Trophy.
The following season, the Heat endured a disappointing run after O’Neal struggled with injury. When he returned, Wade’s injury compounded matters, and they became the 1st champions in 50 years to be swept in the 1st round.
The next season, the Big Aristotle again struggled with injury and poor form. At one point, Pat Riley believed his center was faking injuries to avoid playing.
Then, in February 2008, Shaquille O’Neal’s relationship with the Godfather came to a critical juncture, as he revealed on the Straight Game Podcast.
Jason Williams came half a second late, and he was like, ‘Hey man, you need to get out.’ And I told him, ‘Nah, he’s not getting out.’ Then he said, ‘Well, you get out,’ and I said, ‘(Expletive), put me out.’ So we got into a little scuffle, and the next day I was traded.
Shaquille O’Neal revealed
The 4-time champion was standing up for a tardy Jason Williams. Even if Pat Riley was just the head coach at the time, he would not tolerate that tardiness or a superstar who felt his coach was being unrealistic.