Shaquille O’Neal has always been a dominant presence on NBA hardwood. Him being 7’1 while weighing anywhere between 325lbs to 425lbs during his playing career led to him being labelled ‘M.D.E’, also known as ‘most dominant ever’.
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The unique part about O’Neal being as large as he was, was the fact that he was just as athletic as several forwards that were in the league as well. He could move well in transition, had great footwork, and could change directions at will.
However, there did come a time when his weight did become a bit of an issue as he’d gone off the deep end in his pursuit of dominance. His final title with the Los Angeles Lakers saw him weigh over 400lbs, which was around 70-100lbs more than his ideal weight.
Shaquille O’Neal on trying to lose weight as a 51-year-old
Even in retirement, as a 51-year-old, Shaquille O’Neal continues to strive to maintain a healthy weight for himself. He’s posted several pictures of himself during his weight loss journey over the past year, showing off his abs and overall physique.
While on ‘The Big Podcast’, Shaq told his co-hosts, Nischelle Turner and Spice Adams, that he’d been on a weight loss journey. He would then delve into his ideal weight while not revealing too much about what his current situation is.
“I’m 10lbs away from my destination weight. I’m not gonna say [what my weight is] because the number is still a big number. I don’t want people go, ‘Shaq weighs too much,’” said Shaq. After Adams suggests that a skinnier version of him would be around 280lbs, O’Neal quickly refuted by saying, “280? Ew, that’s too skinny.”
Shaquille O’Neal suffers from sleep apnea
Shaquille O’Neal has had to deal with a few health related complications over the past few years. One has been his sleep apnea that he’d been diagnosed with last year. He was told that it had gotten to the point where he could suffer both hypertension and strokes if not treated properly.
After he was told by his doctor that he could die, he took his recovery very seriously. He now sleeps with a sleeping machine. “I had to really get checked out. When they hit you with that 3 letter word that starts with ‘D’ and ends with ‘E’, it changes stuff up,” said O’Neal.
