Guarding the most dominating player of an entire generation was a daunting task. "When I checked in," says Winter, "[Shaquille O'Neal] looked me up and down, knowing I was a rookie and that he was going to come right at me." On Winter's first defensive possession, the Lakers predictably went right to O'Neal, who spun baseline on Winter for a dunk and "tried to take the rim down on me," as Winter puts it.

Over the next five minutes of action, Winter compiled 3 rebounds and 5 fouls, as his career unwittingly turned into a monument of the Hack-a-Shaq tactic.

Winter has a difficult time recalling many more specifics from the game, though. "It was all kind of a blur," he says. "It was a pretty fast 5 minutes. They were trying to go to him every time and I can't blame them for that."

The Lakers won the game, 107-101, led by O'Neal's 24 points, but Winter fulfilled his duty and, just as importantly, avoided losing money. "They were happy with how I played," remembers Winter, "I asked him if they were going to fine me, and he told me 'no.'"

Despite his efforts, Winter was deactivated after the game; he would never again check into an NBA game. They say everyone gets 15 minutes of fame, but for Trevor Winter, it was only 5 minutes. Still, he left behind one of the most fascinating stat lines you'll ever lay eyes upon.

Now that he's a family man with a job in sales, does he still get asked about his NBA career? "Since I'm 7 feet tall, people always ask me if I played basketball," he says. "I always say, 'Yeah, I played in college.' Then, if they say I should have played in the pros, I usually say I spent a year with the Timberwolves, but only played in 1 game.

"I'm not sure my kids even believe me," Winter laughs.