Criss Angel Shaq: Did the Magician Really Have Shaquille O’Neal Levitating Off the Ground?

Illusionist Criss Angel rose to prominence through the hit TV show ‘Mindfreak’ and left viewers gasping with his incredible magic skills. The sought-after Magician has helped over $150 million in revenue for Las Vegas and consistently links up with celebrities. In 2012, magic enthusiast Shaquille O’Neal reached out to the illusionist on X and praised him by claiming, “U r the best magician ever”.

He also urged the “best” magician to perform a levitation trick on him. In 2013, Angel fulfilled Shaq’s desire and performed a mesmerizing levitating trick on the 7’1” 300+ pounds fella.

I'm apologizing to my man @crissangel I will never spell your name wrong again. U r the best magician ever.

My bad

Levitate me pls

— SHAQ (@SHAQ) August 23, 2012

In the trick, his large body seemingly defied the laws of gravity and reached unimaginable heights to sail over a building and then return to the ground smoothly. This illusion is indeed a spectacle that can arrest someone with wonder upon first viewing.

According to some leaks, the big fella had a white-colored wire wrapped around his thigh area to lift him off the ground, a maneuver which wouldn’t have been possible without the “spectators”  in the video. Angel did a terrific job of using the sunlight as a way to mask the presence of any such mechanism.

However, since this trick was primarily built for visual devices, the editor of the video ensured that it appeared as if the 7’1” Shaq was indeed levitating past a mansion. Meanwhile, the big fella did a fabulous job as an assistant and kept his body still without which this trick wouldn’t have achieved the desired result.

It was clear that the trick required extensive guidelines and O’Neal proved his application brilliantly. Apart from being the recipient of Angel’s magic, the former Laker also showed him that he has also aced the magic game.

When Shaquille O’Neal turned into a magician

In the behind-the-scenes peep, while preparing for the levitation stunt, the NBA legend showed a bunch of card tricks to impress the Magician and his assistant “Christine”. During one of the tricks, after showing a King of Clubs card, Shaq declared that he was the King.

Then he struck his head with his right hand and pulled out a Queen of Spades. He likened the Queen of Spades to Angel’s assistant and hilariously declared that they would be married soon,

“I’m Shaquille O’Neal, the King of Clubs, you know who this guy is? This is Christine so we’re going to get married and I’m the king. I would have to make you the Queen, my Queen.”

In one other trick, he asked Angel to pick a card. The illusionist picked a Five of Diamonds and showed it to the screen, “unbeknownst” to Shaquille O’Neal. Then he shuffled the deck and viewers expected O’Neal to draw the card on the first try.

However, Shaq picked the “wrong card” four times and then, stopped after drawing the fourth. “For the fifth time, I’m not going to pick the card, because five, probably five of diamonds,” proclaimed Shaq as he left Criss Angel gasping.

The big fella used various eye tricks and hand disguises to discern which card Angel selected. He was following Angel’s shuffle closely and was setting up his card trick while giving his profound narrative. These instances prove that Shaq has flashed his hand-eye coordination skills in fields outside of basketball too.