Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal, nicknamed Shaq, is an American retired professional basketball player who is currently an analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. Listed at 7 ft 1 intall and weighing 325 pounds, he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA. O'Neal played for six teams throughout his 19-year NBA career...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth6 March 1972
CityNewark, NJ
CountryUnited States of America
I'm always ready for a change. I'm Irish. I'm a leprechaun.
The Big Cactus. I will stick you.
I'm just getting better and better. It's just like a bunch of worker bees protecting the king bee, because I'm not a queen bee. I'm a king bee.
I know how to turn the bad into good always.
I am aware that most people only see me as Shaq... the guy on the court. But there is another side to who I am, Shaquille O'Neal. And Shaquille O'Neal wants to explore every part of life. He wants the opportunity to pursue all of his desires. That includes being a part of the music industry as an MC. Music is and will always be a part of who I am.
For once in my career, I won't have to hold anybody's hand and they won't have to hold mine. I'm surrounded by veterans. We had a great battle last Thursday at HealthPoint. It was something I never had before - three, four, really great players all in one pickup game.
I'm known as The Big Baryshnikov.
I just said to myself, 'Damn, I'm a great player.'
The Big Cactus... because if you come too close, you're gonna get stuck.
Going from Army base to base as a kid taught me to be a man of all nations. I'd go to the Jewish people and say, 'Shalom, brother.' I go to the Muslim people and say, 'Salaam aleikum.'I go to the Chinese people and say, 'Nee hao mah,' which means, 'How you doin'?' I go to the Japanese people and say, 'Konnichiwa.' I go to San Antonio, Texas, and I get along with Mexicans. Then I go to Louisiana and hang with the Creoles. Moving around a lot made me a man of all people.
Sometimes I feel like the Tom Hanks character in Big. But my life is not a movie. I never have to go back to Coney Island to find the fortune-teller machine so I have to grow up again.
It's t'ai chi every time. I'm using your positive energy, and I'm blowing off it. See, most guys can't push, they got to lean. When they lean, I spin.
I don't get tired. I get beat up. You keep chopping on a tree, you need to give the tree some rest so the chlorophyll will fill back up and the tree gets its energy back.
When I first came in, I partied and had a good time. I used to spend $500,000 on chains that don't make no sense. Then I started having babies. I don't do the bull**** no more.