Shaquille O’Neal is known to make ridiculous bets, as we’ve seen over the years on Inside the NBA. He and Charles Barkley would always joke about betting millions on game outcomes, which highlighted their playful rivalry. But as recently as September of this year, he had to wear a dress in front of a Las Vegas restaurant after he bet on the Dallas Cowboys to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the season opener.
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Oneal’s bets seem to have no bounds. He plays to win money, morale, and at times, to avoid humiliation. But we recently learned that he and his buddies used to even bet on reality TV shows.
That’s right, according to Maury Povich, O’Neal and his crew used to bet on The Maury Povich Show.
“Guess what? Shaquille O’Neal and his buddies watch my show all the time, bet lots of money with each other to find out whether they were the father or not,” Povich revealed on Pablo Torre Finds Out.
In case you didn’t know, Povich’s show revolved around paternity testing. Participants who were unsure about a father’s status as a parent would enter the show. After introductions that usually involved fighting, it would be revealed live whether the man was the father or not.
“Shaquille O’Neal and his buddies … bet lots of money with each other to find out whether ‘they were the father’ or not.”
Maury Povich on “you are not the father” bets and NFL players refusing to take the field until they knew “who was the father” pic.twitter.com/Z89NRV99WI
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) December 4, 2025
The show aired for 31 seasons, and it eventually became a staple of television. Povich was often told that athletes would watch his show before practices and games. But O’Neal took the viewership to an entirely new level.
Funny enough, Povich was also told that football players would watch his show, and it would get them into trouble because they wouldn’t leave until they found out who the father was.
“NFL players would be in their locker rooms getting ready for practice. The coaches are upstairs, and they want to get them out on the field. But they won’t come out until they find out who the father is,” Povich detailed. “I sat at the Super Bowl last year, and right behind me was Warren Sapp. I said, ‘This is what I’ve been told.’ And Warren said, ‘Absolutely, we wouldn’t go out there until we found out who the father was.’”
With this in mind, Torre joked that Povich was single-handedly responsible for the underperformance of several athletes throughout history. His show spurred O’Neal to make ridiculous bets with his friends. Furthermore, NFL players would avoid practicing to watch the show’s climax.
All in all, it’s a funny story that only adds to the comedic lore of O’Neal. He’s such a unique personality that fans should always cherish. Not many people with his hilarious ideas come around too often.
