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On Jan. 12, 2002, then-LA Lakers superstar center Shaquille O'Neal nearly connected on a wild swinging punch at then-Chicago Bulls big man Brad Miller. Their subsequent altercation resulted in penalties for both players. However, according to O'Neal's former teammate Jason Williams, if he connected, it would have ended Miller's career.
Leading up to their altercation, Miller had been playing aggressive, physical defense against O'Neal. So, as the four-time NBA champion once recalled on his podcast, he grew frustrated and "wanted to bust [Miller's] eardrums."
On the "All The Smoke" podcast, Williams, who played three seasons with O'Neal with the Miami Heat (2005 to 2008), recounted the incident. According to the one-time champion, O'Neal's punch could have been fatal for Miller.
"I was sitting next to Brad Miller last night, I told my agent, I said, 'He's so lucky that Shaq missed him when he played for the Bulls. He wouldn't be there today,'" Williams said.
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The podcast's co-host and another of O'Neal's former teammates, Matt Barnes, added that Miller was fortunate, as he seemingly unintentionally dodged the punch.
"And he just happened to duck, he didn't even know it was coming," Barnes said.
"He had no clue," Williams said.
(0:41 mark)
After engaging in a multi-player brawl, O'Neal and Miller were both ejected. O'Neal was later slapped with a $15,000 fine and a three-game suspension, while Miller was suspended for one game.
Additionally, then-Bulls big man Charles Oakley received a two-game suspension. One game of his suspension came for committing a flagrant foul during the altercation, while the other was for accumulating too many flagrant foul points.
Brad Miller says he would have been disabled if Shaquille O'Neal connected on swing at him
Brad Miller shares a similar sentiment as Jason Williams regarding what would have happened had Shaquille O'Neal connected on his 2002 punch attempt.
Miller also discussed the incident on "All The Smoke," quipping that he "would've been sucking through a straw." He added that the former MVP's swing at him was possibly the hardest he ever attempted to punch someone.
"That might've been as full of a swing, and he fake swung at everybody," Miller said. "Yeah, he would've f**ked me up."
(2:14 mark)
Miller added that he and O'Neal later interacted briefly at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles. According to the 48-year-old, O'Neal remarked on how he had "grown up a little bit."
So, fortunately for Miller, the incident wound up more of a what-if scenario that he can now look back on in a light-hearted manner.
