Shaquille O’Neal: A true NBA monster

Birth of a legend

Shaquille Rashawn O’Neal was born on 6 March 1972 in Newark, New Jersey, United States. Shakeel Rashawn means “little warrior” in Arabic. And if now the prefix “little” may seem ironic, in childhood the word “warrior” suited the future star more than any other.

The boy’s family lived in a poor neighbourhood. His father left home before the boy was a year old, and soon went to prison for drug trafficking. Money was so scarce that the whole family had to eat at a free soup kitchen for the poor. Hope came when Shaq’s mother met her second husband, a sergeant in the US Army. He became a father figure to young O’Neal and gave his stepson a basketball.

My dad made me who I am. He gave me a basketball and told me to eat with it, sleep with it, dream with it. Well, except for taking it to school. I really used the ball as a pillow

Shaquille O’Neal

Because of his father’s job, the family moved from place to place often. Part of the “little warrior’s” childhood was spent in Germany, where his stepfather served.

As a child, the future basketball legend was a mischievous teenager. At the age of eight, he repeatedly stole, broke into cars and broke into other people’s houses to show off in front of his classmates, for which he was almost expelled from school several times.

The last time I panicked was in 1981. I was nine and we were living with relatives. I had a teddy bear and I had just stolen a lighter from the kitchen. Was just going to light his tail on fire and laugh. Ha ha. As soon as I lit the tail, the whole place lit up. I almost burned down the whole house. It was a good lesson

Shaquille O’Neal

In Germany, however, he met a coach from the University of Louisiana. By that time, Schuck was less than two metres tall and had already mastered the art of ball handling on the sports field. The coach saw great potential in the clumsy giant and advised his parents to send him to a university with a good basketball team.

His stepfather, who often came to Shaq’s games and gave the young basketball player a beating so that he wouldn’t try to copy anyone, but just be himself and make the most of his strengths, helped him adapt quickly to life abroad.

If you have a problem with your parents, try to resolve it as soon as possible. Ancestors should be your best friends

Shaquille O’Neal

The start of his university career

Shaquille was 15 years old when the entire family returned to the United States and settled in San Antonio. O’Neal played for his high school team and led it to the Texas state championship without losing a single game. His talent was already evident and the young basketball player began receiving invitations from top universities, some of which offered young Shaquille money for transferring to their university. After considering several options, he chose Louisiana.

At first it was not easy for the young talent. But the constant competition and competitive spirit soon bore fruit. After the departure of the team leaders, the “little warrior” gained confidence and became a dominant player on the court. His main advantages were not only his height, but also his superior speed and excellent technique, which he developed match after match.

Shaquille led the university team to victory in many competitions. His name was included on many iconic American teams. In 1992, at the age of 20, O’Neal became a candidate for the draft, in which every year 30 NBA clubs select their best players from university teams. The prodigy from Louisiana was selected by the Orlando Magic as the team’s number one pick. He signed a seven-year, $40 million contract, a record for a starting player in the planet’s most popular basketball league.

“Basketball is an art. To me, basketball is ballet, hip-hop and kung fu at the same time. Ballet is grace, hip-hop is cool, kung fu is killing opponents.”

A major NBA star and fan favourite

At the start of his career in the world’s best basketball league, O’Neal was aggressive, strong and energetic, ignoring opponents, dodging blockers and putting the ball in the hoop time after time.

In his third season, the Florida team made the playoffs and suffered a disappointing loss to Indiana. A year later, the Orlando Magic reached the finals. But there, too, another defeat awaited them…..

I’ve heard a lot of talk about my health and age. So, you’d be surprised. The team needs someone who can ‘light it up’. I’m going to ‘light it up,’ grab rebounds, make sure Nash and the rest of them do what they can do

Shaquille O’Neal

The setbacks didn’t stop the “little warrior” and his many fans supported him through his toughest moments. The athlete was undoubtedly loved by the masses. Along the way, he signed multi-million dollar contracts with Reebok, Pepsi and other big companies. He handled the immense pressure and stood the test of the fame that slammed down on him. A few years later, Shaq moved to the Los Angeles Lakers, signing a $120 million contract and winning three championships with them at once. And later won another championship with the Miami Heat.

I’m so sick of it, I hear the same thing all the time: money, money, money, money, money, money, money. And I just want to play basketball, drink Pepsi and wear Reebok

Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O’Neal was born to play. And he enjoyed the process and the attention of the fans. But the age of the athlete is not so long. Shaq was clearly getting tired, getting slower and could not play the way he used to because of injuries.

On 1 June 2011, on his page in his social network, the basketball player announced the end of his professional career and went to a well-deserved retirement.

I promised my parents and myself to do it, and I succeeded. People think money and fame are important, but it’s only a small part of the pie. To be secure, you need to be educated. Now I’m secure – I can get a real job

Shaquille O’Neal

At the end of my career, I’d like to work in TV or radio. Perhaps write books or do public speaking. Not to forget my interest in law enforcement

Shaquille O’Neal

Business. Family. Film. Music

Shaquille has recorded several rap albums, one of which, “Shaq Diesel,” went platinum. He also tried his hand at cinema, starring in films and TV series, and voicing animated films. He received $7 million for his starring role in the 1996 film “Was Jinn Called?”.

However, most of his screen roles have been episodic, and O’Neal has often played himself. For example, in 2015, the former basketball player appeared in an episode of season 3 episode 2 of the comedy series The Difficulty of Assimilation, where one of his characters is an Asian high school student who admires African-American culture and is a big fan of Shaq.

As for the personal life of the “little warrior”, he is divorced, has five children from several women, and one of his sons is obsessed with basketball. So O’Neal’s name will still be on the rumour mill thanks to his heirs, as well as the past sporting achievements of the great Shaquille.

I used to really like to have fun, I mean throwing parties, celebrating something. I could easily spend $500,000 on stupid events that didn’t make any sense. Then I had kids. I don’t let myself do that kind of stuff anymore

Shaquille O’Neal

During his NBA career, O’Neal amassed a fortune of $290 million. Back in the 1990s, he made smart investments. The money earned on the basketball court, the athlete invested in development companies and sports clubs or in lucrative contracts with advertising companies.

Shaquille often advertised entertainment products and was the face of the NBA video game franchise. In 2018, O’Neal became the first person to try out Magic Leap augmented reality glasses at the Code Media conference. Since 2016, the basketball player has been a frequent guest on WCW and WWE wrestling promotions, and even made his debut as a wrestler at the Wrestlemania 32 show.

That same year, Shaquille, a TV host and commentator for sports channel TNT, demonstrated live on air how to hold four bottles of water in his hand at the same time.

Conclusion

Now Shaquille O’Neal continues to be the same bright and popular persona, often pleasing viewers with his appearances on American channels. He was always a simple guy who wanted to play basketball and really loved it. His antics and eccentric behaviour do not cause negativity, but on the contrary make you smile.

“Little Warrior” only does what his heart tells him to do. He is willing to be an ambassador for Starbucrs while claiming he doesn’t like coffee. It’s okay for him to explain his terrible free throws by saying it’s a hint from God that Shaq isn’t perfect. Actions like that show that Shaquille O’Neal is real, a true NBA monster, just the way he is.

I smile, I do crazy and sometimes downright stupid things. I think that’s why people like me. I’m not like everybody else. I’ve always been something of a clown. It just comes naturally, by itself

Shaquille O’Neal

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Author: Team Dunkest
June 26, 2024 | 10:00 am