Shaq made Goran Dragic carry around a keyboard for no reason

Goran Dragic fell victim to an unusual prank by Shaquille O'Neal.

Prank stories are good stories. We want more of them.

Today’s prank story is courtesy of Jason Lieser at the Palm Beach Post. It is not the best prank story, but it is not the worst either. This tale concerns Shaquille O’Neal and Goran Dragic, who played together on the Phoenix Suns. 

Dragic was 21 at the time, still adjusting to America and the NBA after leaving Slovenia. O’Neal was already a surefire Hall-of-Famer with four NBA championships and a career of colorful moments. And this meant he wouldn’t let Dragic off the hook when it came to hazing. From Lieser:

Dragic mostly avoided rookie hazing, particularly since most of the Phoenix veterans were not interested in carrying it out, but O’Neal (formerly of the Heat) was not about to miss out on that fun.

“I always had to carry his piano keyboard,” Dragic said. “Is that the word, keyboard? I always had to carry that for him on the road. I didn’t know why he needed it. A couple of times his room was next to mine and I never heard him playing that thing. He was messing with me.”

Ah, the ol’ carry-my-keyboard prank. Works every time. 

[Palm Beach Post]

– Rohan Nadkarni