Shaquille O’Neal firmly believes in the power of education and the necessity to constantly upskill. Despite everything he has achieved so far, Shaq still works tirelessly to self-improve. His latest endeavor is a degree in Sports Psychology and it seems like he’s working really hard for it.
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Shaq’s Executive Producer Brian Bayati gave us some insight into the 52-year-old’s crazy work ethic. Brian posted on his Instagram story about how Shaq performed a DJ set and went straight back to his books.
Bayati also expressed his pride in Shaq for working towards becoming the “first sports psychologist that has played at championship level.”
Shaq is working towards his next degree pic.twitter.com/sZ2vACAfxE
— What are (W)NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) September 7, 2024
DJ Diesel has had a very busy schedule this summer, with the latest show happening last night at the Florida Atlantic University. The dedication to come back home after a long set and then sit down to study just shows the big man’s desire for higher education. A desire that was instilled in him by his mother Lucille.
Back in 2015, Shaq was on the Graham Bensinger show, where he shared how his mom motivated him to finish his 1st degree.
“I leave school, I get $40 million, I get $100 million, I get $80 million. But I’m getting calls once a week [by my mom]. ‘Yeah you’re doing movies, you’re doing albums, but you promised me you’d go back to school.’ I never like to let my mom down, so I went.”
Shaq finished his bachelor’s degree for his mom. However, there was a whole different motivation behind his MBA.
“I realized that when you go to a business meeting, they talked to me, then they talked to my guy. And I found that disrespectful, right? I’m making the final decision anyway, I understand.”
The disrespect in business meetings led to Shaq completing his MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2005. However, he did not stop at that. O’Neal went ahead and got a doctorate degree in Human Resource Development from Barry University in 2012.
Adding a Sports Psychology degree to his previous three degrees would make it 4, right? But Shaq argues that this degree would make it 5.
Shaq argues that his Sports Psychology degree would be his 5th degree
Earlier this year, Shaq was a guest on JJ Redick’s Old Man and the Three podcast. JJ asked Shaq if he ever saw a sports psychologist for his free-throw troubles. Shaq replied,
“I don’t need a sports psychologist but I’m about to become a sports psychologist. I’m enrolling in school in the fall.”
This prompted JJ to ask Shaq about how many degrees he has. O’Neal answered,
“Four. This would be my fifth. Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate, Street. Yeah, I have a street degree and then I’m going to get one.”
If the Big Aristotle says he has a Street degree, who are we to argue?
