Glen Davis shares the story of body slamming Shaquille O'Neal the first time they met
Glen 'Big Baby' Davis and Shaquille O'Neal
© Jeff Griffith-USA TODAY Sports © David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
At 7'1'' and 325 lbs, there are not too many people that are more physically imposing than the NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Arguably the most dominant player the league has ever seen used his size to achieve an illustrious career. It's hard to imagine somebody overpowering Shaq, but that's precisely what one of his former teammates claims to have done back in the day.
Wrestling match
Glen Davis, better known for his nickname "Big Baby," is a former NBA player mostly remembered for his days with the Boston Celtics, where he even won an NBA championship. At 6'9'' and 290 lbs, Davis had a really unique build for an NBA player, but he would use his wide frame to his advantage and have a solid 8-year run in the league. If he had taken more care of his body, Davis could have definitely lasted longer and done more in the league.
Davis was the same type of player ever since his college days at LSU, where he spent three years and averaged some impressive numbers. That would catch the eye of the legendary Shaq, who always paid attention to his alma mater and the new generation of players. At that time, Shaquille was playing with the Heat and was still in his good years.
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Davis would get a chance to meet Shaq over dinner at that time, but the night would take a strange turn when O'Neal would invite Davis outside to wrestle. "Big Baby" shared the hilarious story the other day with DJ Vlad:
"I was infatuated with Shaq at the time. I feel like I was a Shaq minion. I ended up knowing him because I'm an athlete at LSU … I got a chance to meet the director over there with the scholarships … one of his advisors and went to dinner at [the advisor's] house eating spaghetti. And Shaq comes out of nowhere and was like, 'Let's go outside.' Shaq was like, 'Aight, let's get down and wrestle.' So you know how you wrestle, you get into position. So I'm in the position, and I'm grabbing, holding him. Next thing you know, I slammed him down like a wrestler. He was like, 'Got damn. You're a big a** kid!' So that's how me and his relationship really started."
Glen Davis, DJ Vlad TV
It's hard to imagine anybody body-slamming a person of Shaq's size, but if anybody could do it, it would be a young Glen Davis. Even though Shaq was at least 50 pounds heavier than Davis at the time, Glen showed some slick skills and strength to get the big fella on his back.
Funny enough, the two would even become teammates later on for one year, during the 2010-2011 season (Shaq's farewell tour). The Celtics wouldn't manage to meet expectations and win it all, but that team had so many characters with guys like Shaq, Big Baby, KG, Pierce, Rondo, Nate Robinson, and more that it couldn't have been a dull time in the locker room. I'm pretty sure Shaq even got his revenge that year.
