Shaquille O'Neal had the privilege of playing for two of the greatest coaches in the history of the NBA, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley. Jackson won six championships with the Chicago Bulls and another five with the Los Angeles Lakers . Meanwhile, Riley coached the Showtime Lakers to four NBA titles and added a fifth with the Miami Heat .
During his recent appearance on Mike Bibby's "Straight Game" podcast, O'Neal explained the difference between the two.
"Phil was more of a 'Let you figure it out' type of guy. Keep in mind, when me and Kobe were going through a rift, you never heard Phil say anything. I can remember in the Sacramento series, an important series, we'd be down, and he'd call a timeout. He'd be like, 'I'm not bailing you guys out. Figure it out.' So we'd have to figure it out. Pat was more 'Do this, do that.' So he was more of a dictator," said O'Neal.
Not only did Jackson let his players figure things out on the court, but he also let them be themselves away from it. The best example was Dennis Rodman, whom the Bulls got the most out of because Jackson did not try to control him.
If Riley had been coaching the Bulls instead of Jackson, he would have probably penalized Rodman for every mistake, and the latter would've most likely become rebellious.
But Riley had his unique coaching ways, too.
O'Neal recalled when the then-Heat coach asked Alonzo Mourning to show off his six-pack to Shaq to let him know he wanted him to look the same way. O'Neal responded by showing Riley his career numbers against Mourning — 30.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game and a 13-3 head-to-head record.
"I said he got all the six pack and all that. I like to eat burgers, he likes to eat salad. But this is what I averaged on him. I'm not doing that. So he didn't like the fact that I was standing up to him," Shaq added.
Despite their differences, O'Neal helped the Heat win their first-ever NBA title and Riley's fifth as a head coach. But given the latter's dictatorship and the former's rebellious stand against his style, their relationship inevitably hit its boiling point during the Heat's rough 2007-08 campaign. The two dominant personalities clashed in practice, and Shaq ended up getting traded.
"One day, Jason Williams came late. Remember, we used to have that clock?" recalled O'Neal. "Jason Williams came half a second late. He was like, 'Hey man, you need to get out.' I told Jason we're not doing that cuz that's when he got rid of Antoine and my guys and had a regular team. We was losing like crazy. So he told J-Dub to get out. I said, 'No, we're not getting out.' He said, 'Well, you get out.' I said, "Motherf—er, put me out." So he got into a little scuffle, and the next day, I was traded."
The following day, O'Neal was traded to the Phoenix Suns in what epitomized Riley's rule of tyranny in Miami.
They call Riley "The Godfather" because of his slick hair and fancy clothes. However, the nickname is also justified because he ruled with an iron fist. Jackson, meanwhile, had an entirely different approach.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
