“No Way He’s Concentrating on Basketball”: Shaquille O’Neal Once Defended His Decision to Act and Rap While Playing in the NBA

Shaquille O’Neal is more than a basketball player, he is a cultural icon. The Diesel never limited himself to basketball, as he ventured into commercials and movies early in his career. Shaq would make his big screen premiere in 1994 with the movie ‘Blue Chips’. The movie was based on the illegal dealings that happen between college athletes and recruitment programs. Shaq’s first attempt at the cinema would be a surprising ‘flop’, as the movie only grossed $26.7 million worldwide.

But before Shaq could move forward with his cinematic career, the critics were already at his doorstep. According to media reports, Shaq wasn’t perceived as a hard-working player in the eyes of the fans. Media and fans often questioned Shaq’s ability to concentrate on the game, as he seemed to lack the drive to work on his skillset. Shaq would respond in his 2011 book Shaq Uncut, addressing the criticism being layered on him. Talking about the allegations, Shaq said,

” Of course, people were killing me for doing all these things while I was playing basketball. What they didn’t understand was it never interfered with my workouts…….. The morning was reserved for my workouts. Leonard arranged for me to play at a little gym in Manhattan Beach…That didn’t stop people from saying, “There’s no way he’s concentrating on basketball while doing all this stuff.” They were entitled to their opinions, but I was trying to build something for the future. I was trying to establish my brand.”

O’Neal has always been a multi-talented personality. Shaq even enjoyed an illustrious music career as a rapper. His debut album ‘Shaq Diesel’ even went platinum in its first year. Even throughout college Shaq wrote raps and played around with beats, something that would pay off many years later.

The argument that anything outside basketball interfered with Shaq’s progress on the court seems mostly off. Even with the release of his second movie Kazam, Shaq’s performance on the court only continued to rise. O’Neal would continue to make appearances on the big screen throughout his 19-year-long career. In that duration, Shaq would win 1 MVP, 4 championships, and 2 finals MVPs. Going down as the most dominant center in league history.

Shaquille O’Neal was a better rapper

Athletes often try to make the jump from sports to cinema. But that very often spells disaster. The same would happen in the case of Shaquille O’Neal. The 7 footer would fail miserably during the first half of his acting career.

His debut film Blue Chips would be a resounding flop. Shaq would mount a comeback with his fantasy movie, ‘ Kazam’. Kazam would be another failure for O’Neal, even though Shaq’s acting was ‘iconic’ to say the least.

Trying to resurrect his career, The Diesel would sign up on DC’s superhero project, ‘Stell’. Unsurprisingly, the movie would be handicapped by a limited budget and Shaq’s acting. Fortunately for most, Shaq would have a ‘real’ talent in the booth.

Shaq would make a massive debut with his album Shaq Diesel. The album would end up going platinum, while also being critically acclaimed. Shaq’s next two albums would go gold, being much more ambitious projects than his debut. The two albums featured a lot of hip-hop legends such as Biggie, Method Man, and Jay-Z.