When John Salley recalled his role as Shaquille O’Neal’s de-facto babysitter at LA Lakers

Shaquille O'Neal and John Salley seem to have an interesting relationship. While it's uncertain if they're still friends now, the two were once friends, although that was questionable as well.

Salley said that he was O'Neal's personal babysitter and that Phil Jackson made sure to keep Shaq out of trouble.

"My job really was to make sure that Shaq didn't get in any trouble. I told Phil, 'I'll play every 5 games.' One time he walked up, he said, 'You taped?' I said, 'Bruh, this Game 4.' Come on, man. He's sitting down there making $22 million. Y'all paying me Shaq's per diem. Get that big boy out. I thought I was gonna stay, but Phil told me he had no real estate. And I understood that I was still earning $1.3 million telling Shaq' Young fella, young fella.'"

Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks - NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022

John Salley and Shaquille O'Neal relationship

Other interesting things have happened in Salley and O'Neal's relationship. From being his babysitter to claiming Shaq paid off girls to having Shaq lend him money, the two have been involved in it on numerous occasions.

Salley was somewhat involved in the claim that Kobe and Shaquille O'Neal were not good friends, and this was because he claimed O'Neal paid a girl off.

"I'm playing for the Lakers and they give us, like, per diem [of] $930," he said. "They still gotta give Shaq one. Shaq has not cashed any of his NBA checks 'til this day. So they're gonna give Shaq an envelope with $930. Guy makes $300,000 per game at this time."

"So this girl was talking, 'I'm now doing 'Best AM Sports Show,' I had Shaq on one time, I kicked it with Shaq." At that point, everyone around here went quiet. But Salley knew. "I was like, 'oh, you kicked it with Shaq?' he asked. "Yeah, I'll tell you right now, boom, came up to me, he ain't give me a G, but he was like, 'here ya go, $900, go shopping.'"

Shaquille O'Neal clearly denied these allegations and said that this wasn't what happened.

"This whole situation is ridiculous," O'Neal told ESPN. "I never hang out with Kobe, I never hung around him. In the seven or eight years we were together, we were never together. So how this guy can think he knows anything about me or my business is funny. And one last thing — I'm not the one buying love. He's the one buying love."

It's fascinating to consider anything that happened between the two. While it has not been confirmed that any of this occurred, it appears that some of the stories are true. Except for the one story about him paying a girl, Shaquille O'Neal hasn't said anything about everything being false.

Let's see if this continues and if O'Neal or Salley say anything else about what's going on here in the near future. He has made several comments implying that Shaq may decide to protect his name.