The NBA catapults players to stardom so much so that it often becomes difficult for them to lead normal lives outside the court. Apparently, it’s tough for everyone except Shaquille O’Neal. The 4x champion seems to be leading a relaxed life, doing all the things he wants to do. His budding music career, for instance, illustrates this perfectly. Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue has lauded O’Neal for the relative ease in which he has been dealing with his fame and fortune.
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Lue, who was teammates with Shaq during the Lakers’ threepeat at the turn of the century, has always claimed he found it amazing that the 1999 MVP wasn’t reclusive.
“You know what I give Shaq credit for? Being a megastar but living his life. Cos you come across guys won’t come out the house, you won’t see ’em. Shaq was out everyday, so then it became, ‘Oh that’s just Shaq!’ You know he was amongst the people, he did everything. You can live a normal life,” said Lue on Draymond Green’s podcast.
The coach added that since O’Neal made public appearances often, nobody was surprised to see him outside. So, the amount of attention he would receive became lesser. He essentially normalized being seen doing mundane tasks, to the point it wasn’t a big deal to see a 7-foot behemoth of a man walking around buying groceries.
Shaq has continued his relaxed approach to life even after his retirement. It’s truly amazing to see how many pies he has a finger in.
O’Neal has not changed post-retirement
From his larger-than-life presence at music festivals to his unending pranks on Charles Barkley on live TV, it’s evident that O’Neal still lives life on his own terms.
His music career is probably the most lively part of it. The former rapper is now a full-time DJ, under the moniker DIESEL. He boasts nearly 260k monthly listeners on Spotify, and has shared the stage with big names like Steve Aoki.
Shaq roams the streets like a normal man, and not as one of the most dominant forces the NBA had ever seen. His sense of humor sets him apart. One famous picture of him trying to hilariously hide from a paparazzi illustrates this perfectly.
😂 🌳 As it's Shaquille O'Neal's birthday, it's only right that we share this picture of Shaq hiding from paparazzi behind a tree… pic.twitter.com/JgyTiRhMVM
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) March 6, 2019
At his core, O’Neal is fun-loving. And that’s one of the biggest reasons he’s so well-loved by the public.
Despite retiring over a decade ago, Shaq’s celebrity status has continued to grow. And his decision to live “amongst the people”, as Lue puts it, has made him all the more endearing to the masses.
