Shaquille O’Neal has a hilarious theory on why Phil Jackson subbed him out early during his 61-point game: “He didn’t want me to score more than Mike”

Shaquille O’Neal dropped a career-high 61 points on the Los Angeles Clippers on March 6, 2000. The Big Diesel felt he could have gone for more, but Phil Jackson decided to insert Travis Knight in favor of Shaq when the game had already been decided. The 2000 NBA MVP had a theory about why the Zen Master elected to sit him out.

“I’m actually kinda upset at Phil because I think we have five minutes left, and he took me out,” O’Neal said in an episode of Open Court. “I think he did that because he didn’t want me to score more than Mike (Michael Jordan). That’s what I think.”

MJ scored 69 points on March 28, 1990, against the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, Shaq got the details wrong on this one. According to Basketball Reference, Jackson subbed O’Neal out with two minutes and 33 seconds left, and the Lakers up by 20, 117-97. He probably could've done it if he could score at least nine in that time frame, but he most certainly did not have five potential minutes to work with.

“Now I’m pissed”

Pissing off the most dominant force in basketball is not a good idea, but Shaq had a petty reason why he exploded that night. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was an assistant coach for the Clippers at the time, so O'Neal felt slighted when he was giving pointers to center Keith Closs on how to guard the big fellow.

"I look over to the bench, and I see one of my idols telling Keith Closs how to stop me. I see Kareem saying, 'You gotta do this, you gotta do that.' Now I'm pissed," said the four-time NBA champion.

The Lakers kept looking for Shaq, which was the recipe for success. After a lackluster start, the Diesel got hot and had 26 by halftime. He then went on to drop 35 points in the second half, capped by a 19-point fourth period. Besides scoring 61, the LSU product also grabbed 23 rebounds and dished out three assists.

“Still went to the party”

Shaq's career game happened on his 28th birthday. That alone threatened to mess everything up for him. As O'Neal related, he didn't have his usual pre-game routine because he was planning a birthday bash the entire time.

"That night was my birthday, and we had a party," Shaq recalled. "Usually, I go home, take a nap, eat lunch, and get ready for the game. We're playing against the great Keith Closs and the LA Clippers, so I'm taking the night off getting ready for the party… Then, we get out there and they're killing us and everybody was looking at me. So, now I have to play, I didn't get my nap, so I'm just scoring."

Thankfully, the 15-time All-Star woke up from the slumber and gave everybody a show. The Clippers were up most of the first half and held a 27-18 lead in the first quarter. After the Purple and Gold managed to take the lead, 56-55, at the break, they never looked back and got the job done.

"I was hot, and I still went to the party," the 1992 first-overall pick exclaimed.

Related: "He always taught us to think positive" - How Phil Jackson's guidance helped Shaq to excel after his basketball career