Perk recalls being pissed at Shaq for instigating Delonte West beating up teammate

Former NBA guards Von Wafer and Delonte West spent much of the 2000s and early 2010s serving as serviceable role players at the highest level. The former spent six seasons in the league with seven teams, while the latter played eight NBA seasons with four squads.

Wafer’s and West’s careers crossed paths on the Boston Celtics. Both players suited up for the storied franchise back in the 2010-11 campaign, though Wafer was a more consistent presence in the lineup for the Celtics.

According to former Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins, when he was with Boston, West and Wafer were gunning for the final spot on the roster.

Wafer and West faced off against one another in a workout, and after the former came out on top, the latter beat up his teammate.

Perkins thought legendary big man Shaquille O’Neal instigated the altercation and got angry at him for that.

“Von is sitting at his locker in the locker room,” Perkins said. “He’s iced up. He’s iced up, towel on, chilling. D. West come in the locker room like, ‘Motherf—–, what? What you saying out there on the floor?’ Stands over him and [aggressive noises].

“Von Wafer is leaking, right? This is one of the few times that I get pissed off at Shaq, right? ‘Cause this is bullying at this point. You know when somebody want to fight you and you know when somebody don’t want to fight. Von had no intentions on fighting or doing none of that.

“That man just wanted to compete, go home, let the chips fall where they may. Shaq in there, ‘Oh s—. Oh s—, let’s take it. Take it to the bathroom. Take it in the shower. He gotta get his lick back.’ I’m like, ‘Man, sit your big a– down, man. Instigating that s—.’

“Because I done got pissed off because one, the man got both feet in the mop bucket, you know what I’m saying? … Both feet icing in the mop bucket. Knee — you know what I’m saying? Bags of ice on his knees. He chilling. He ain’t on nothing. D. West come up still off on the man.

“The man leaking, man. At this point, I feel bad. It’s one thing for a motherf—– to get ready to go blows, and you could tell both want smoke. He wanted no action, so it was just bullying at that point, you know what I’m saying? And it was a real thing, and I’m just heated. And it’s just like, ‘Oh, take it in the shower.’ I’m like, ‘Nah, man. Ain’t no take it in the shower, man. Break that s— up, man. That man don’t wanna f—— fight.”‘

Wafer ended up suiting up in 58 of Boston’s 82 games in the 2010-11 campaign and averaged 3.2 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.3 steals per game. The No. 39 overall pick back in the 2005 NBA Draft shot 42.1 percent from the field that season as well.

The now 40-year-old didn’t stick around with the Celtics organization for all that long, however. He lasted just one season in Boston before he joined the Orlando Magic, and he last played in the NBA with Orlando in the 2011-12 season.

As for West, his career played out in a similar fashion to Wafer’s after playing a small role for the Celtics in the 2010-11 season. He also lasted just one more campaign in the best basketball league in the world, as he suited up in 44 contests for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011-12 campaign before the end of his NBA career.

It’s unfortunate that West resorted to physical violence after Wafer got the better of him in a workout, but hopefully the two have moved on from the incident after all these years.

It seems as if the memory of the physical altercation is still fresh in Perkins’ mind after all of these years.