Now I slam it, jam it, and make sure it's broke!"
Superman. The Big Aristotle. The Man of Steel. Shaq-Fu. The Big Shamrock. Shaq Daddy. The Big Galactus. The Big Shaqtus. And last, but not least: Shaq Diesel.
Those are just a fraction of the many nicknames given to Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (born March 6, 1972), a former NBA player, and one of the biggest and heaviest to ever play in the league, standing at 7'1", and weighing 325 pounds in his prime. In his 19-year career in the NBA, Shaq ammassed 15 All-Star appearances, three All-Star Game MVPs, two scoring titles, and a record ten seasons leading the NBA in field goal percentage due to his incredible dunking ability.
Drafted #1 overall in 1992 out of LSU, Shaq started off with the Orlando Magic and was immediately dominant; after winning Rookie of the Year, he took the young expansion franchise to a Finals appearance, won Olympic gold, and was named one of the 50 greatest players ever in NBA history for the league's 50th anniversary in 1996, when he had only played three full seasons. Immediately afterwards, he signed with the Lakers, where he spent the peak of his career, winning three titles (2000-02) alongside Kobe Bryant and being named Finals MVP in all three. He somehow managed to only win one MVP award in 2000, despite coming in seventh
in all-time MVP voting (everyone ahead of him on that list won the award at least three times).
Opposing teams soon learned that the only way to stop him was to "Hack-a-Shaq" and foul him out, as he was an infamously poor shooter (his free throw percentage hovered around 50%, and he only made one three-point shot his whole career). A rift eventually formed between Shaq and his coaches and teammates, who publicly accused him of overrelying on his physical strength and not putting in effort in practice. He was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004 and won a fourth championship in '06, but the natural deterioration of players his size and weight soon reduced his effectiveness. He bounced around to the Suns and Cavs and retired in 2011 after a single injury-plagued season with the Celtics. He was elected to the Hall of Fame at his first chance in 2016; his #34 was retired by the Lakers and his #32 by the Heat. The Magic would also retire his #32 in 2024.
One of the most popular players in league history due to his talent, deep booming voice, and sense of humor, Shaq has had a massive media presence both during and after his career. In addition to being a businessman off the court, he's released several RIAA-certified rap albums, starred in multiple movies, video games, and TV shows, dabbled in mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, and is even an electronic music DJ and producer. He was featured on the covers of NBA Hoopz, NBA Live 96, and NBA 2K 6 and 7 (and some editions of 18).
When not busy touring or doing entrepreneurial gigs, Shaq is a basketball analyst on TNT's Inside The NBA, alongside frequent rival and fellow former NBA All-Star Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson.
Music Discography:
- Shaq Diesel (1993)
- Shaq-Fu: Da Return (1994)
- You Can't Stop the Reign (1996)
- Respect (1998)
- Shaquille O'Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1 (2001, unreleased)
- GORILLA WARFARE (2023, credited as DIESEL)
Filmography:note
- Blue Chips (1994)
- Kazaam (1996)
- Steel (1997)
- The Wash (2001)
- Scary Movie 4 (2006)
- Grown Ups 2 (2013)
- The Smurfs 2 (2013)
- Show Dogs (2018)
- Uncle Drew (2018)
- Hubie Halloween (2020)
Television: note
- Shaquille (2005)
- Shaq Vs. (2009)
- Inside the NBA (2011)
- Upload with Shaquille O'Neal (2013)
- Welcome Back to School (2015)
- Shaq Does Shark Week (2018)
- Home Movie: The Princess Bride (2020)
- Shaq Life (2020-Present)
Video Games:
- NBA Jam (1993, 2003, 2010)
- Shaq Fu (1994)
- A Legend Reborn (2018)
- NBA 2K (1999)
- Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 (2000)
- Delta Force: Black Hawk Down (2003)
- UFC Undisputed 2010 (2010)
Bibliography:
- Shaq Attaq! (1994)
- A Good Reason to Look Up (1998)
- Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales (1999)
- Shaq Talks Back (2002)
- Shaq Uncut: My Story (2011)
"I know I got tropes, man, I know I got tropes, man!"
- Acrofatic: Downplayed as he was more "huge frame and muscular" than "fat", but the amount of extra weight he carried fluctuated from season to season - and even in his heavier years, until late his career he was far more agile than anyone his size had a right to be, and had a variety of effective spins and fakes in his arsenal to complement his most famous power moves.
- Adam Westing: Whenever he cameos as himself in a movie or TV show, he'll be a super exaggerated version of himself.
- The Artifact: "Shaq Fu" was actually a nickname given to him by rap group Fu-Schnickens, to fit the theme naming of the other members as an honorary Fu-Schnick (Chip Fu, Moc Fu, and Poc Fu). Unfortunately, O'Neal also used it as the title for the widely-hated Shaq Fu video game series, and it's since become shorthand for bad games.
- Arch-Enemy: Kobe Bryant, thanks to their ongoing feud as teammates, became this to him after Shaq was traded from the Lakers; though that eventually cooled down in the twilight of their careers, and they mended fences before Bryant's death. Dwight Howard later became this to him once he felt Dwight Howard was not only taking his spotlight away late in his career but also using the "Superman" moniker Shaq had for his entire career.
- A-Team Firing: Being a typical rim-driving center, Shaq's accuracy from range was... unimpressive, to put it mildly. Boasting an infamously low 52.7% free throw completion record. And in a career that spanned almost 2 decades, he had exactly one made 3-pointer.
- Badass Boast: His rap albums contain many, but "(I Know I Got) Skillz" was him telling his detractors he wasn't a novelty act and could hold his own on the mic as well as he could dunk on the court."You don't like Shaq? Frankly, I don't give a damn
I know I got skills man, I know I got skills man!" - Big Fun: Few are as big and fun-loving as O'Neal, and even in the realm of basketball, he rarely takes himself too seriously.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He was known for being a powerful unstoppable NBA player, but was also known for being a playful funny guy as well.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Shaq himself admits he never applied himself too hard while training. Even the great Phil Jackson thinks that if the Diesel had put in just a little bit more effort on the practice court and in the weight room, he would've won 10 MVP titles in a row, and that we would now be calling it the "Shaquille O'Neal Most Valuable Player Award".
- Butt-Monkey: Despite being an NBA great he is often ridiculed by comedians and even by some sports analysts for his size, speech, lazy eye, and above all, his abysmal free throws.
- Call-and-Response Song: "Where Ya At?", his duet with Phife Dawg has Phife in the chorus calling out for Shaq, with Shaq responding with "I'm over here!" each time.
- Creator Backlash: Even he won't defend the original Shaq Fu, which is part of the reason why he made A Legend Reborn. The jury is still out on the latter, however.
- Disappeared Dad: Addressed on "Biological Didn't Bother", where Shaq famously dissed Joseph Toney, his biological dad, for abandoning him and his mother, and only resurfacing after Shaq became famous. They eventually reconciled in 2016.
- Expy: Not so much in personality, but in playing style he is often compared to (though much less technical and skilled) the former NBA player Wilt Chamberlain. The comparison to Wilt Chamberlain occurs because just like Wilt, Shaq used his size, speed and strength to score and they were both simply unstoppable because of their stature.
- Follow the Leader: While there were NBA players who were multimedia darlings before Shaq, it was his ventures with music, movies, games, and so on that set the gold standard for other players to capitalize on later. Allen Iverson, Damian Lillard, Ron Artest, former running mate Kobe Bryant, and Lonzo Ball are just a few players who also dipped their toes into music after Shaq's success, but O'Neal remains the only player to have Gold and Platinum-certified albums and singles.
- Gentle Giant: Shaq is known for being a truly colossal man, but he's well-known for being extremely fun-loving and kindhearted, especially with younger fans; but a few NBA players, including some teammates, have different views on how gentle he can be based on his treatment to them.
- Grief Song: Recorded a tribute rap to former teammate Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, after their tragic deaths in early 2020.
- The Juggernaut: He used his weight and height to score, and because of it (in addition to his strength), he was simply unstoppable when trying to score. Even when his opponents grabbed or hacked him, it rarely stopped him from scoring, aside from his terrible free throws. The NBA eventually had to reinforce their backboards and rims after his rookie season because he kept destroying them whenever he dunked.
- Large Ham: It's extremely rare not to see O'Neal ham it up onscreen in some fashion.
- Lightning Bruiser: For the majority of his career, he moved disconcertingly fast for a man so tall with his long legs and huge jumping power making him borderline unblockable.
- Magical Negro: Played a literal one as the titular Kazaam, a rapping genie.
- Military Brat: A real-life example; the stepfather who raised him, Phillip Harrison, was a career Army NCO, meaning that Shaq spent most of his childhood going from one military base to the other. In fact, Shaq's future college coach, Dale Brown (not that one), first met him as a 12-year-old on an Army base in the then-West Germany.
- New Sound Album: GORILLA WARFARE, O'Neal's first major album in twenty-five years, mostly eschews his hip-hop roots in favour of EDM and dubstep; though he still drops a few bars here and there on the album.
- Nice to the Waiter: Shaq is known to leave enormous tips when he goes out to eat in part due to his frame having huge dietary requirements.
- Older Sidekick: He was this to Dwyane Wade and surprisingly he accepted this role proudly while on his fourth title run.
- One-Hit Wonder: Averted; though his first Top 40 hit was a feature on Fu-Schnickens' "What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock?)", the song is mostly associated with him (and was even included on his debut), and he managed to score two more hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Piss-Take Rap: Averted; most of his newer fans are usually surprised to learn that Shaq not only raps well but was a very successful emcee in his prime.
- Plucky Comic Relief: He and Charles Barkley are known to usually be the more comical side of Inside The NBA.
- Promoted Fanboy: He's a massive Superman fan, which directly inspired two of his nicknames, and his casting in the 1997 Steel film; and is also a giant video game fanatic, to the point where he had his personal cabinet of NBA Jam shipped around with him when he traveled around for games during the 90's and would play all night between games. He also had his own Shaq Fu series of games, and guest-starred in others like Delta Force: Black Hawk Down and Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, as he was a fan of both series.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red oni to Kobe’s blue, since he was the more playful one out of the two.
- Renaissance Man: In addition to being an NBA legend, he's also a prominent business owner and entrepreneur, rapper, DJ, and has even dabbled in mixed martial arts.
- Self-Deprecation: In his eulogy speech at the memorial of his late teammate Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna, he said he promises to teach Bryant's three other daughters their dad's basketball moves and promising not to teach them his own free throw techniques.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Has one in Charles Barkley on Inside the NBA, which actually stems all the way back to their infamous 1999 on-court brawl, where Barkley body-slammed Shaq onto the floor. They're actually good friends, but their competitiveness and egos often lead to them getting into arguments and throwing jabs at each other.
- Scary Black Man: Subverted since most people were only scared of going against him on the court and he was very approachable outside of the court.
- Stout Strength: He's known for his very heavy build and having noticeably more body fat in contrast to the leaner physiques of other players but it's been repeatedly demonstrated that much of his build is pure muscle as he was known as one of the strongest players in the NBA during his time.
- Strong and Skilled: In addition to his famous strength, he's also a long-time martial artist enthusiast who has trained in boxing, wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai.
- Super-Strength: He was one of the most powerful centers to ever play in the NBA, if not basketball as a whole. This was especially noticeable in his prime, where he had a reputation of straight-up destroying rims and backboards, to the point where the NBA not only increased the strength of the backboards after Shaq's rookie season, they also started issuing technical fouls to any player who broke one.
- Technician vs. Performer: O'Neal (performer) and Tim Duncan (technician who Shaq himself nicknamed "The Big Fundamental") had this sort of competition going on as on or the other of them made the NBA Finals all but one year from 1999 to 2007. Though Duncan played a different position a large amount of the time, they had similar roles as leading post scorers and defenders and did guard each other a fair amount in many of their matchups. A lot of the narrative centered around the contrast between Shaq's flashy style and extreme athleticism vs Duncan's quiet, casual mannerisms and basketball IQ.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Despite him and Kobe winning 3 NBA championships in a row, and being credited as one of the best NBA duos of all time, they had a fair share of drama between each other while winning, which eventually led to O'Neal getting traded away to Miami. By the time both of them retired, they mended their relationship and remained close friends until Bryant's death.
- Trash Talk: He was known to diss the opposing team's star players or their whole franchise, especially in the playoffs.
- Wolverine Publicity: Ever since he became a star in the NBA, he always found his way on screen, even with media that has nothing to do with the NBA. He has been cast in multiple music videos and movies and made several TV appearances.
