Shaquille O’Neal reveals that he played as a tight end before switching from American football to basketball in his high school days.
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Shaq is definitely built like the largest human being that most people are ever likely to come across. The all-time great says that he weighed over 395 pounds at his peak in 2002.
During his Orlando Magic days, Shaq was a lot lighter in weight, but still a menace at 325 pounds. This meant that he’d be the heaviest player in the league even today – incredible, given how lithe he looked in transition.
There are a ton of big players who had long and successful careers in the NFL. However, none of them were 7 feet tall, or even approached that. Shaq may never have had the 40-second dash required to play pro football, but it is an interesting thought experiment nonetheless.
We’ve seen the likes of Rob Gronkowski dominate the NFL on account of their unstoppable size and speed. Would Shaquille O’Neal have had any success playing college football, or pro football?
Shaquille O’Neal talks about giving up on high school football and starting basketball on Jimmy Kimmel Live
His physique and his athletic talents have certainly led a lot of people to question why exactly he wasn’t playing football. A lot of that has to do with the damage that the average football player takes. Shaq explained how on Jimmy Kimmel:
“I played organized ball, I played tight end and then a guy your size side-swiped me one day. He kind of messed my knee up and then I started playing basketball.”
“My dad brought in an article. A player by the name of John Koncak he was making $15 million for 3 years playing basketball. That’s when I told myself I’m sticking to this.”
Shaq’s decision does make a ton of sense. After all, he’s only the most dominant center in 3-point-era basketball, isn’t he?
