Shaquille O’Neal’s affiliation with tigers goes beyond his ties to the LSU Tigers. Rumors have swirled for many years suggesting O’Neal owned a few tigers, but there was no concrete evidence to support this theory. That was until a very close and reliable source confirmed the speculation.
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Murmurs surrounding O’Neal’s potential domestication of tigers became widespread news in 2018. He made a guest appearance on Netflix’s Tiger King and alluded to having tigers in his possession. His comments led to immense backlash from fans.
As a result, O’Neal took control of the discourse by clearing the air and squashing any false narratives.
“When I say I own tigers—I always go to these zoos and I make donations and then they’ll say, ‘Ok, these are your tigers.’ But the tigers never come into my possession,” O’Neal said on The Steam Room podcast.
That officially closed that chapter, or so it seemed. Shaq’s son, Shareef, recently spoke on his father’s alleged pet tigers. His comments answered what everyone was waiting to hear.
“It was a few when I was growing up. Not with us in the house, but they were around,” Shareef said on an episode of ClutchPoints’ Buzzer Beaters.
The hosts proceeded to ask Shareef whether he thinks his father had more tigers or more NBA championships. He didn’t show much hesitancy to choose tigers. For reference, Shaq has four NBA titles.
Shareef’s answer turned out to be wrong, at least according to the information the hosts had. Details disclosed to the public suggest O’Neal only had two tigers. However, Shareef went on to hint that it was their information that was incorrect.
“I know he has some now, and I know he had some when he played on the Heat,” Shareef proclaimed.
Shareef quickly backtracked on his answer to avoid adding heat to his father. Unfortunately, the damage was already done. Luckily for Shaq, Shareef didn’t blurt out a solid number of tigers that he thinks his father has ever had.
Shaq has not come out and spoken about his son’s comments. Since these words come from someone who was constantly around O’Neal throughout his career, they do hold value.
It doesn’t mean that Shaq has them in his possession, as he stated, but his connection to big cats is undeniable.
