“I wanted to bust his eardrums up that’s all, I wanted him to hear f**k tweety birds for the rest of his life” - Shaquille O'Neal on his infamous fight with Brad Miller

On the night of January 12, 2002, Shaquille O'Neal nearly tore off Brad Miller’s head in a game between the LA Lakers and Chicago Bulls. With about 2:45 seconds left in the closely-fought game, the usually calm Shaq had had enough of Miller’s neck chops and took a mighty swing at the nape of the Bulls’ retreating center.

On an episode of the Big Podcast with Shaq, O'Neal explained the events leading up to the ugly incident and his swing itself at Brad Miller. According to the “Big Diesel,” he warned the two-time All-Star to stop fouling him with hits to the neck. It was only when the dirty play continued that the Lakers legend nearly ended Miller’s night.

Here are Shaq’s uninhibited thoughts as he went after Miller:

“I didn’t wanna hit him on the back, but as soon as he turns to the side, I wanted to bust his eardrums up that’s all. I wanted him to hear f****** tweety birds for the rest of his life.”

Shaq carefully noted that he pulled his punch as his police training kicked in. He knew very well what would have happened to the NBA journeyman if he hit him squarely in the nape. If not for that little bit of self-control, who knows how that already ugly night could have ended.

The three-time Finals MVP added that he knew what the Chicago Bulls’ tactics were. They wanted to put him on the free-throw line every time he got the ball in the post. He also stressed that other than Brad Miller, Charles Oakley, one of the game’s most physical players, was also doing the same thing

O'Neal and Miller were in the middle of the fracas while several of their respective teammates and coaches tried to separate them. Miraculously enough, Miller came out of the melee unscathed, except for his torn jersey, which was left somewhere on the floor.

For his swing and for causing a bench-clearing altercation between the two teams, O'Neal was fined $15,000 and was suspended for three days. Miller was ejected from the game and suspended for one game.

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Shaquille O'Neal calls the Hack-a-Shaq a confirmation of his dominance

A triple-team is sometimes not enough to stop Shaquille O'Neal in the post. [Photo: Denver Post]

The 7’1 325lb man-mountain called Shaquille O'Neal terrorized opponents with his size, physicality, skills and surprising mobility. Sometimes, opposing coaches would send the entire unit on the floor to stop “The Big Aristotle” and it would still not be enough.

To counter Shaquille O'Neal’s impact and dominance, teams started fouling him off the ball and forcing him to shoot from the free-throw line where he’s historically inefficient. Most of the time, the strategy worked, but in some cases it just completely backfired.

For Shaquille O'Neal, the Hack-a-Shaq was nothing more than an affirmation of his greatness.