More Great NBA Revenge Moments Featuring MJ, LeBron & Shaq

Why Luka Doncic Is OUT FOR REVENGE After The Lakers Trade

Thank you, Nicco Harrison, for giving us a new franchise in the NBA REVENGE genre. Every time Luka plays the Dallas Mavericks for the foreseeable future, it will feel like a highly-anticipated John Wick sequel.

The cursed Mavs will try to bring in bigger, badder, and better villains to stop our Slovenian protagonist, and we will enjoy our popcorn as he and his 40-year-old partner in crime kill them all.

And then, we will revisit the question: Did you really have to go so far as to trade him? You could have just taken the car, but you had to kill his dog, too.

In honor of the new Luka Revenge franchise, I wanted to look back at some of my favorite revenge stories in the NBA world.

You won't see any Black Mamba stories here because he had so many revenge games that they had to be separated. Click here to read about his revenge on his rookie coach, the Utah Jazz, Allen Iverson, Penny Hardaway, and Shaq Diesel.

Let's start with the Diesel and his rookie season.

SHAQ'S REVENGE ON HIS HOMETOWN

Shaq on getting dunked on by Derrick Coleman #shorts

Shaq is so proud to be from Newark, New Jersey, that he even made a song about his hometown with the great Keith Murray.

I flip my style like a pancake flipper

dive-dive dipper

let me pull up my zipper

I'm sick and tired of pissin' on this track

Newark represents lovely

Redman and the Shaq

His "Welcome to the league" moment came during his first game against the New Jersey Nets. That moment is when NBA All-Star forward Derrick Coleman threw down a left-hand dunk on Shaq and gave him a finger wag before Mutombo did the finger wag.

"I drove that b***h and banged it on his motherf****g head," Said Coleman during a hilarious appearance on the KNUCKLEHEADS PODCAST. "I hit him with the finger wag, and Dikembe stole that from me."

"I didn't know he dunked it until the ball hit my face," Said Shaq on OPEN COURT. "When I turned around to him he wagged his finger in front of everybody.

I looked up at my mom and dad (places hand on his face) and then went to the bench with a little tear in my eye. I was so mad."

Shaq vowed never to get posterized again and to ensure he got some revenge every time he played the Nets

He did get "dunked on" a few more times (he only claims two: Tim Perry and Michael Jordan) but kept his word about revenge.

Shaquille O'Neal Breaks the backboard!

• (1993) Breaks the backboard in New Jersey. The NBA introduced "Shaq-proof rims" after the season.
• (1993) Records one of the best triple-doubles in NBA history: 24 points, 28 rebounds, 15 blocks in 36 minutes.
• (1998) 50 points (18/26 FG, 14/20 FT)
• (2002) Averages 36.3 points (59% FG), 12.3 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks as the Lakers swept the Nets in the NBA Finals.

I once tweeted about Shaq's revenge and how it all started because of the DC dunk. Shaq's reply to me: "You are so correct."

SHAQ'S REVENGE ON KAREEM AND THE CLIPPERS

Shaq Drops 61pts On L.A. Clippers On His 28th Bday March 6 2000

This Shaq revenge story happened on his 28th birthday while playing with the Lakers. Even though the game was in Los Angeles, it was against the Clippers, and they were considered the home team.

Since they were the home team, they weren't willing to give Shaq the tickets he wanted for all of his family and friends.

If that wasn't motivation enough to destroy the Clippers, Shaq said he heard their assistant coach, the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, giving Keith Closs advice on how to guard him.

"Now I'm pissed," Said Shaq. "I see one of my idols telling Keith Closs how to stop me. I'm like, 'Give me the ball!'"

Shaq responded by scoring at will

And every time he got a bucket, he would look at Kareem and get angrier that Kareem wouldn't look back at him.

He continued to punish Closs and the No. 1 Draft pick Michael Olowokandi (2 PTS, 5 PF) with a career-high 61 points on 69% shooting and 23 boards in 44 minutes.

“He obviously wanted to make a point. I hoped he would stop at 50,” said Clippers head coach Jim Todd.

Not only did he want to make a point, he wanted to play the remaining four minutes of the game.

"I was actually kind of upset with Phil because he took me out," Said Shaq. "I think he did that because he didn't want me to score more than Michael Jordan. That's what I think."

After the game, Shaq had this message for the Clippers: "Don't ever make me pay for tickets."

SHAQ'S REVENGE ON GEORGE KARL

Vincentda / Redapples

To complete the Shaq revenge trilogy, here's an amusing story about his revenge against George Karl and the Seattle SuperSonics.

Shaquille was the leading All-Star vote getter during his second NBA season. They won't admit it, but I think the great veteran bigs on the Western team (David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaw Kemp, and the Mail Man) took that a little personally.

So, for 26 minutes, they made life hell for the player NBA fans were most excited to see

Against double and triple-teams (Yes, in an All-Star game), Shaq missed 10 of 11 shots and was sent to the free throw line a game-high 11 times!

"We were talking about it halftime." Said NBA ref Jake O'Donnell. "The West weren't going to let Shaq go to the hole, which I didn't understand in an All-Star game. Why not let the guy do what he does?"

I asked Gary Payton about this. He laughed and said, "It started as a joke. Shaq was talking big stuff, and Coach said, 'Alright, Gary, we are going to make sure he understands this is how it is.' It wasn't like that. Then we had to play them right after the All-Star game."

I reminded GP that the Magic murdered the Sonics in that game.

"Yeah, we got killed," Payton replied. "Shaq took it personally, and he got busy that day. But that's how it goes. It was a joke at first, and then Shaq took it a little personally, and that was it. But that's how it was back then. If a coach didn't want to play you, you would go back at their team."

Shaq had a game-high 38 points on 16-of-19 shooting, 20 rebounds, and 5 blocks in the 31-point win.

After the game, a local Orlando reporter drilled George Karl about the All-Star weekend. A very annoyed Karl responded by telling the reporter he thinks he's acting like an a**hole.

SHAWN KEMP'S REVENGE ON ALTON LISTER

Shawn Kemp Dunks on Alton Lister

Sticking with the Sonics, one of Shawn Kemp's greatest dunks has an interesting revenge story.

In Game 2 of the first round of the 1992 NBA Playoff series between the Sonics and the Golden State Warriors, Kemp and center Alton Listor got into a squabble. Punches were thrown, and since this was 1992, they both stayed in the game, which the Warriors won after a dominating second half.

The Warriors' strategy in Game 3 was to frustrate Kemp by constantly sending him to the charity stripe. The Reign Man finished with 22 points but only had five field goals.

Midway through the second quarter of Game 4, Kemp catches a pass at the three-point line, takes one dribble, cuffs the ball like he's about to windmill dunk, and then throws down on the 7'0" Alton Lister, who tried to take a charge.

With Lister sliding across the floor and his feet in the air, Kemp squatted down, pointed at Lister with both hands and then ran back down the court with a pumped fist. Again, since this was 1992, the refs didn't give Kemp a taunting tech -- a term that would generate laughter back then.

Kemp's other most famous dunk happened just minutes later. With a minute left before halftime, Kemp dunked so hard on Chris Gatling that Gatling gave him some dap.

NBA MUST SEE | Chris Gatling shakes hands with Shawn Kemp after getting posterized | NBAKINGDOM

The Sonics went on to eliminate the Warriors with a three-point victory. Lister finished the game with 4 points (1/5 FG), 3 blocks, 3 fouls, and 1 charge that resulted in a dunk being named after him: THE LISTER BLISTER!

LEBRON'S REVENGE SZN (YEAR 17)

Lebron James’ Top 10 Assists from the 2020-21 NBA Season!

Most of these examples are revenge games against an individual or team. But in 2020, LeBron James wanted revenge on everyone: the league, the media, and especially fans who felt he was "washed."

After missing the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season, LeBron was calling Year 17 the "Revenge Season." The Summer workout and scrimmage clips were dropping more frequently, and then the 35-year-old posted a photo of himself in the gym with the caption: "WAR READY!!!! Revenge Season Continues Soon"

Many of us were expecting LeBron to come out firing with 40-point games. What we got was a bunch of triple-doubles with high assists. LeBron averaged 26 points, 11 assists, and 7 boards as the Lakers won 17 of the first 19 games of the season. He finished the regular season with a league-leading 10.2 assists, many social posts with the hashtag "Washed King" and was runner-up to Giannis Antetokounmpo in MVP voting.

The Lakers breezed through the first three rounds of the playoffs by only losing a total of three games. After putting up 38 points (16 in the 4th) and eliminating the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, he posted a photo of himself with the caption:

"Job Not Done. Finish Ya Breakfast #RevengeSeason"

Skip & Shannon react to LeBron's 'Revenge SZN' post & response to critics | NBA | UNDISPUTED

On October 11, 2020, LeBron posted one last triple-double (28/14/10) and won his fourth NBA Championship.

During his Finals MVP speech, he said, "I want my damn respect." Later that night, he posted the legendary photo of himself smoking a cigar with the caption: "What they gone say now? I know they’ll make up another criteria that nobody else has ever had in the history of the game.

But Guess what though, bring it on please! Heavy is the head that holds that holds the crown they say. #RevengeSZNCompleted"

AGENT ZERO'S USA REVENGE TOUR

A few other players had so-called "revenge seasons" or "revenge tours." One of the most amusing ones came courtesy of the always-outspoken Gilbert Arenas.

In 2006, Coach Mike Krzyzewski cut the All-NBA guard from the U.S. national team that went on to win Bronze at the FIBA World Cup. Like a true movie villain, Arenas said he would score 50 against every NBA team associated with one of the USA coaches: Mike D'Antoni's Phoenix Suns and Nate McMillan's Portland Trailblazers.

He kept his word against the Suns. Arenas played 47 minutes and dropped 54 on them. D'Antoni joked afterward that he would like to see what Arenas would do against Duke. Arenas responded in his blog (yes, Agent Zero used to write a blog for the NBA website):

"I thought it was funny because if I have the chance to go back to college, I'll give up one NBA season to play against Duke. One college game... I'd probably score 84 or 85. I wouldn't pass the ball. I wouldn't even think about passing it. It would be like an NBA Live or an NBA 2K7 game, you just shoot with one person."

84 is ludicrous, but Arenas was having a spectacular offensive season that included a 60-point game against Kobe Bryant, 51 on Deron Williams, and 40+ on your favorite guard.

Gilbert Arenas Was Out Of This World In 2006-07 - HIBACHI HIGHLIGHTS! | GOAT SZN

Then came time for Arenas to score 50 on Nate and the Blazers. Well, it took four quarters for the entire Wizards to score 50. Arenas finished with just 9 points on 3-of-15 shooting (0/8 3PT) in the 94-73 loss. He partially blamed the coaches for the loss: “The first period of the game, we had what, 11 players go in? I’ve never seen that before. We got taken out for any mistake we made on defense... It’s on us because we actually have to go out there and do it."

He wasn't much better in the Wizards' second game against the Blazers that season. He missed all 7 of his three-point attempts and shot just 25% in the two-point loss.

The revenge tour came to an early end when he tore his MCL in the final month of the season. Without him, the Wizards were swept by LeBron and the Cavs in the playoffs.

The tour was still enough to get him some MVP votes, All-NBA 2nd Team honors, and a $111 million deal with the Wizards.

MICHAEL JORDAN'S REVENGE ON THE GUY WHO SAID "NICE GAME, MIKE"

The night and the night after LaBradford Smith made a big mistake talking smack to Michael Jordan

From one Wizard to another. But this story goes back to 1993, when the Wizards were the Bullets, and Michael Jordan was on the Bulls.

During an appearance on Hot97, Four-time NBA Champion Horace Grant talked about how competitive Michael Jordan was. The story he gave was about a second-year player named LaBradford Smith. On March 19th of 1993, Smith went off on the Bulls for a career-high 37 points while only missing five of 20 shots. Despite the Bull's win, MJ was reportedly pissed because Smith said, "Nice game, Mike."

"That was a very embarrassing situation for me," said Jordan. "Evidently, I didn't respect the guy, and he's certainly capable of putting up some numbers, and he did. Offensively, it wasn't going for me, and I let that affect my defensive effort, and that's something I will improve on. I look forward to the challenge."

He didn't have to wait long for that challenge because the two teams had a rematch in their next game. MJ reportedly told some media members he would match Smith's 37 points in just the first half of the rematch. As crazy as that sounds, he almost did it. MJ knocked down his first eight shots and scored 36 points (he would have had 37 if not for a missed free throw) in the first half. According to MJ, Smith was asking for mercy.

"We were talking a little trash. He told me, `Cool off. Cool off.' And I said, `You didn't cool off on me (Friday) night. Why should I cool off on you?'

MJ had 47 by the time he checked out in the third quarter. Phil Jackson said he asked Mike if he wanted to play in the 4th "because I know he hovers on the record of so many things," but Mike said, "There's no sense going back in."

"I never seen a man go after another player the way he did," said BJ Armstrong during THE LAST DANCE.

MJ VS A WIZARD

If you want to hear about MJ embarrassing a real Wizard, he did so during this same season. Here's Walt "Wizard" Williams talking to the Basketball Network about his first game against MJ:

I got an iso right here against Jordan.' If I score on him, I can call my boys and let them know I scored on Jordan.' So I waved Mitch Richmond off, broke the play, and tried to do my iso. I came right at Jordan with my patented crossover, right to left crossover. Jordan stole that thing, went down, and did his emblem dunk. When he ran back down, he tapped me on the butt and said, 'We watch film up here, baby. I knew you was gonna do that fake a** crossover.'"

MICHAEL JORDAN'S REVENGE SPEECH

Michael Jordan's Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Speech

There are many more stories about MJ getting revenge that are worth deep-diving. One of my favorites is when Jeff Van Gundy called MJ a "con man" who befriends other players to gain a competitive advantage. But I thought looking back at MJ's Hall of Fame speech would be fun.

Most people use their time at the Naismith podium to thank everyone who helped get them to that podium. Tell a few jokes, say something heartwarming, and shed a tear or two. Well, this is how MJ started his 20-minute speech:

"I told all my friends I was just gonna come up here and say 'thank you' and walk off. I can't."

MJ thanked many people but also brought up the names of many people who made him an assassin, including the guy who made the final cut on his high school team.

"There's Leroy Smith. Now you guys think that's a myth. Leroy Smith was a guy when I got cut he made the Varsity team. He's here tonight and  still the same 6'7" guy. N any bigger, probably his game is about the same. But he started the whole process with me because when he made the team and I didn't, I wanted to prove not just to Leroy Smith, not just to myself, but to the coach that picked Leroy over me. I wanted to make sure you understood that you made a mistake dude."

MORE GEMS FROM THE SPEECH

• MJ on Buzz Peterson: "He's Player of the Year. I'm thinking, 'Well, he ain't never played against me yet, so how did he become Player of the Year?' So Buzz became a dot on my board."
• MJ on Doug Collins: "When I was trying to play in the summertime, he said, "You're a part of the organization, and the organization said you can't play in the summertime." I said, 'Doug, you haven't read the fine print in my contract. In my contract, I have a LOVE THE GAME CLAUS, which means I can play anytime and in any place I want."
• MJ on Jerry Krause: "He said 'organizations win championships'. I said, 'I didn't see organizations playing with the Flu in Utah. I didn't see them playing with a bad ankle.'"
• MJ to Pat Riley about Jeff Van Gundy: "You had your little guy who was on your staff and became the next coach after you. He said I conned the players. I befriended them and then attacked them on the basketball court."
• MJ on Tex Winters: "We are walking off the floor and Tex looks at me and says, 'You know, there's no 'i' in team'. I said, 'Tex, there's not, there's not an 'i' in team but there's an 'i' in win.'"
• MJ on Bryon Russell: "I look over at Bryan and I said, 'Do you remember this conversation you made in 1994 and said, 'I think I can guard you, shut you down, and I would love to play against you?' 'Well, you about to get your chance.' And believe me, ever since that day, he got his chance."
• MJ on the Hall of Fame: "They're charging $1,000 tickets for this whole event. It used to be 200 bucks."

VINCE CARTER'S REVENGE ON TORONTO

Vince Carter Game Winner Nets vs. Raptors 01.08.06

"Time heals all wounds" is the perfect quote to represent the relationship between Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors. Many young NBA fans probably watched Vince's jersey retirement and thought it was inevitable. For anyone old enough to remember how nasty the divorce got between the two, you were probably thinking, "Wow! Child support must have ended" when you heard they were going to raise his 15 to the rafters.

You can google the "he said, she said" stuff from Vince's final season in Toronto, where they sometimes booed him during home games. All you really need to know is they sent him to New Jersey in a trade that some considered the worst NBA trade ever until Nicco Harrison said, "Hold my beer (that Luka isn't allowed to hold)!"

The Raptors received the following

• Alonzo Mourning: He wouldn't report to the Raptors and had to be bought out
• Eric Williams: His wife was on Basketball Wives
• Aaron Williams: Was known for being really strong
• Two First-Round Picks: They used one to draft Joey Graham and the other was used to get rid of Jalen Rose's contract.

VINSANITY PART 2

Playing alongside Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter looked like vintage Vinsanity. His scoring went from a career-low 15.9 in the first 20 games of the season to 27.5 for the rest. By All-Star weekend, he was in a groove, routinely dropping 30, and had back-to-back 40-point double-doubles in February.

In the season's final week, he had to face his former team for the first time in Toronto. The Air Canada Centre was full of booing fans holding everything from signs mocking Vince to crutches, head bandages, and even baby bibs. Carter responded with a game-high 39 points on 15-of-26 shooting.

"It wasn't that bad, believe it or not," Said Carter during a postgame interview. "If you let them get in your head, it's going to mess your head up. I stayed focused and made sure in the third quarter I had a better start."

Vince won his next two games in Toronto the following season. One of those wins came on a game-winning three by Vince, who scored 24 of his 42 points in the final quarter.

STEPH'S POST-KLAY REVENGE TOUR

STEPHEN CURRY GOES OFF‼️ 56 PTS, 12 Threes in WIN Over Magic

One of Vince's biggest fans in Toronto was the son of teammate Dell Curry. Little Steph and his brother, Seth, would often come to practice and try to play against players like Vince.

As you know, that kid turned out to be the greatest shooter in the history of the NBA and is currently on what some consider a revenge tour.

"It's that light skin brother with the green eyes," Said ESPN's Kendrick Perkins earlier this season. "It seems like he's on a revenge tour right now. I saw this look in his eyes during the preseason and said, 'Steph Curry is locked in.' Steph Curry feels some type of way, in my opinion, with Klay Thompson leaving him."

In Year 16, the 36-year-old 2 x MVP is averaging his lowest points (24.1) in a decade. But he has had some flashes of brilliance:

• 56 points with 12 threes against the Magic. He even outscored them 22-21 in the third quarter
• 8 straight threes with a sprained right thumb vs the Sixers
• A 24-point Third quarter vs the Bulls
• 37 points, including the team's final 12 in his first win against Klay
• An early appearance of the Night Night celebration after just three quarters against Klay and the post-Luka trade Mavs

I personally don't think this is a "revenge tour," but if Steph wanted any revenge on Klay (I doubt he does), I'm pretty sure he doesn't anymore. He's probably even asking the Basketball Gods if they can show mercy on his former teammate because of where he's at.

"Klay's stuck in purgatory right now," Said Klay's father, Mychal Thompson, on ESPN LA. "I think they are going to lose 10 in a row."

Steph Curry Hits Dagger 3 & 'NIGHT NIGHT' to Spoil Klay Thompson's Return 🔥