Shaquille O’Neal was widely renowned during his hay days for his dominance in the paint and his board-shattering dunks. However, people might be surprised to know that until high school, Diesel did not have the massive vertical leap he would be known for later in his career. In his autobiographical account, Shaq Uncut, O’Neal narrated the incident of an army officer in his base in West Germany who helped him increase his vertical from 18 inches to 42 inches.
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Shaq’s step-father served in the military, meaning the O’Neal family spent most of their time on the move, living in US military base establishments across the country and the world. When Shaq blossomed as a teenager, he was raised at a base camp in West Germany, where he often played and practiced basketball in the gym.
Around 1986 or 87, when Shaq was in his freshman year of high school, the big man was noticed by an officer, Pete Popovich, practicing in the gym. Almost 6’10” at that time, Officer Popovich noticed that Shaq wasn’t dunking the ball or leaping with it while playing. When enquiring about it, O’Neal told him, “I can’t jump, it’s my knees, I think I just can’t get off the ground.”
When the two again met while Shaq was lifting weights, the officer showed young Shaq how to do calf raises and advised him to follow this daily workout routine. Shaq religiously followed this advice to increase his vertical leap from the end of his freshman year to the end of his sophomore year in high school.
In his own words, the Big Man says, “I did those damn things until my legs felt like they were going to fall off. From the end of my freshman year to the end of my sophomore year in high school, my vertical leap went from eighteen inches to forty-two inches.”
While playing for his high school, Shaq successfully led his team to a 68-1 record over two years and helped his team win a state championship during his senior year. He created a state record in Texas with his 791 rebound, which remains the highest for a player in any classification.
Shaq quickly earned a reputation for making hook shots like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who inspired the Big Diesel to wear the No. 32 in high school and, later, No. 33 in college.
Shaquille O’Neal once went viral as a teenager for dreaming about making money in college
The Big Man Shaq always had trust in his skills, even when he was a teenager in high school. Thanks to the military officer Pete Popovich, O’Neal soon became a dunking phenomenon, with his highlights and interviews going extremely viral nationwide. In an unseen High School Dunk Compilation video, we can see a 17-year-old Shaq claiming on camera, “I want to make $6.2 million a year!”
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Well, no dream was too big for the Shaq-Fu to achieve. The Diesel went on to have a glorious career at LSU, winning tons of accolades such as being a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and NCAA’s men’s basketball player of the year in 1991.
Shaq’s hard work made him the #1 pick in the 1992 draft by the Orlando Magic, who offered him a four-year $17.4 million rookie contract. On top of that, Shaq also signed a $15 million multi-year endorsement deal with Reebok.
While it took him six years until signing with the Lakers in 1996 to earn $6.2 million yearly from NBA contracts, the Big Diesel definitely earned a hefty amount from his contracts and endorsements right from his rookie season.
