While Shaquille O’Neal’s massive frame was a blessing in the NBA, it was a curse for him growing up as a kid. Shaq had already turned 6’6” tall by the age of just 13. The big fella naturally stood out among his schoolmates and was often bullied because of his stature. As he was growing up, Shaq’s size caused him a lot of anxiety and pretty much became an insecurity for him. On his The Big Podcast, Shaq revealed how he finally got over being embarrassed about his height as a 13-year-old.
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The 52-year-old recalled being clumsy and underconfident at that age because of his height, which further contributed to his insecurity about his frame. But when he met his maternal great-grandfather, who was around 7’3(according to Shaq), Shaq finally felt confident about his height.
He saw his grandpa plowing the field with his humongous frame that reminded him of the superhero He-Man. A young O’Neal was naturally impressed by his build and found the idea of being that huge and strong alluring. His mother Lucille O’Neal also gave him reassurance that he would look like that in the future.
All this was enough to convince Shaq that he will be one of the most dominant NBA players ever.
“I used to be ashamed of being tall, because everybody was short, and all my friends are short. I was kind of doofy, I was uncoordinated, I wasn’t the Shaq…But we get to this little small house… [Great]Grandpa in the back, I looked at the back,” Shaq described his visit to Dublin, Georgia to meet his great grandfather.
“He had on some pants, he had his shirt open, he had the ox with the plow thing. He did like this [wiping sweat from forehead] and when he did that, he looked like He-man. I’m just looking at him, like, ‘God damn!’”
“My mom is like, ‘That is how you gonna be.’ From that day on, I felt like I want to be dominant, I want to be like that,” Shaq added.
Therefore, Shaq realized that if he became as big as his grandfather, he would look terrific as a grown-up. That brief encounter was enough to make him realize the benefits of his stature.
But even as a grown-up, there is something for which he can give up his height.
What would Shaq give up his height for?
O’Neal is a renowned car geek. He is more than just a car collector and loves to take the wheel too. But many top-notch sports cars are not made for his stature, which prevents him from driving them. Thus, Shaq sometimes wishes that he were shorter so that he can get into sports cars like Ferrari and Lamborghini. In 2023, he told PEOPLE,
“The only time I’ve wished I was smaller, so I can get into some of these expensive sports cars. Other than that, I’ve never had that thought process.“
At the end of the day, Shaq’s 7’1” frame was a menace to deal with for every defender that went against him. It helped him carve out a Hall-of-Frame career and earned him the ‘most dominant player’ tag in the NBA.
