Playing professional basketball doesn’t come without its vices. The physical anguish athletes feel on a day-to-day basis gets masked. Sometimes through grit, other times through medication. Shaquille O’Neal was one who did both. The Hall of Famer spoke about this affinity for pain pills during a recent interview on Armchair Expert.
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The show’s host, actor Dax Shepard, spoke about his days learning of his own addiction to drugs and alcohol. This led to Dax asking The Diesel about taking pain pills during his prime playing days, and whether he ever felt like he couldn’t survive without them. O’Neal, being an intellectual, responded with a question.
“Is addicting for the chemical effect or are you just taking it? Because I was having a heated discussion with my doctors like, ‘You were addicted.’ But I didn’t feel high,” stated Shaq. This led to an interesting conversation, one that Shepard, being in recovery, was able to answer. He spoke about not just the relief of physical pain, but of the mental anguish that comes along with it.
“I don’t think I was suffering mentally,” fired back Shaq. It was certainly interesting to him, but you could see him deciphering whether he could classify himself as an addict. He also joked about taking more pills than told due to his size. “I would always do homeboy math. It says take one, I’m taking three.”
The way O’Neal phrased his need for the pills is a fine line between addiction and necessity. His job was to put his body through a whirlwind of physical activity, and he himself admitted that he wouldn’t want his body to give him problems for games, especially important ones. Dax later asked him if his pill taking was a secret.
“The trainers knew,” answered Shaq. “I mean I’m not telling my wife or my kids or my boys.” O’Neal was, of course, referring to his now ex-wife Shaunie. While this is hardly the reason that the two separated, it probably didn’t help either case.
Shaq later learned something. He assumed that an addict was similar to a junkie, but Dax educated him on how it is much more complicated than that. “For me, addiction is I’m preoccupied by it,” stated Shepard, who called himself a “high-functioning” addict.
Based on what was said, O’Neal may have taken more pain pills than he needed to during that time of his life. But he later told Dax that he wouldn’t take any in the offseason. Thus, his mind was not really preoccupied. Perhaps he overindulged, but the addiction seems to have missed out on the Diesel.
Besides, Shaq has other ways to soothe his muscles other than just drugs. The Lakers legend famously partnered up with Icy Hot, a brand that he still endorses to this day, nearly 20 years later. The brand and the image are a perfect example of what Shaq was dealing with at the time.
Yet his longevity remains strong. Shaq wrestled for AEW four years ago and looked like a beast. He continues to train at the gym with his sons and shows that traveling on the road for his Inside the NBA duties has not slowed him down. Shaq is a man of many talents. One thing he should not be classified as is an addict.
