One of Michael Jordan’s former teammates faced some indirect criticism from Shaquille O’Neal recently. The NBA Hall of Famer expressed his envy towards Dennis Rodman during their time together on the LA Lakers in 1999. However, O’Neal’s jealousy wasn’t about Rodman’s performance on the court but rather his off-court antics.
During a recent episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” the Lakers icon had Allen Iverson as his guest. While discussing various topics, they briefly touched on Rodman, with Shaq revealing his envy of Rodman’s lifestyle.
“He’d go out, grab 25 rebounds, reeking like (expletive), throw on his clothes, head to the club, and be surrounded by the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen,” O’Neal remarked. “They’d be all over him, hugging and kissing him.
I’d think to myself, ‘This guy stinks like trash water, and yet he’s got models fawning over him at the club.’ … I wasn’t upset because he had the girls; I was just shocked he didn’t bother to clean up.”
During the 1998-99 season, Shaquille O’Neal and Dennis Rodman were teammates for 23 games. Rodman had just come off winning his third consecutive championship with the Chicago Bulls.
However, his tenure with the Lakers was brief, and he would exit the league after the 1999-00 season, during which he played only 12 games for the Dallas Mavericks.
O’Neal, on the other hand, would go on to win three more NBA titles with head coach Phil Jackson, who had coached Rodman during his time with the Bulls.
