Shaquille O’Neal loves his mother deeply. He values her opinion and speaks highly of her whenever he can. As a single mother who raised her children on her own, Lucille O’Neal has earned a lifetime’s worth of respect from her son, and understandably so.
Advertisement
Shaq was born in March 1972 to Lucille and his biological father, Joseph Toney. But while O’Neal was still a baby, Toney was sent to federal prison for passing fraudulent checks. During that time, Shaq and Lucille lost contact with Joseph, and she later remarried a man named Phillip. It wasn’t until Shaq was seven years old that he finally met his biological father.
Throughout it all, Lucille did everything she could to ensure her son was well cared for. In return, Shaq has always made it a priority to take care of her, and he knows she appreciates it.
“I know my mother’s watching me,” O’Neal told News 3 Las Vegas. Shaq is currently helping build a youth facility in Las Vegas for kids who have nowhere to go after school. The goal is to provide them with a safe and productive space for after-school activities. All in all, it’s a genuinely admirable gesture from O’Neal.
In a way, Shaq wants to provide support for kids so single parents like his mother don’t have to stress over providing and watching over their children 24/7. And at the end of the day, he hopes the gesture makes his mother even more proud of him. “The only reaction from my mother I want is her to be proud. So, a lot of the time, before I do or say things, it’s just all about like, when she calls me to tell me, ‘Baby, I love you, thank you.’ That’s more than Mary calling me and saying, ‘We got a $50 million deal.'”
It’s a wild analogy, but it makes sense considering how deeply Shaq has loved and respected Lucille over the years. When he received his first big paycheck from the NBA, O’Neal gave the money to his mother and stepfather to help them pay off their debt. Later, after the two divorced, Shaq continued to support his mother as she went back to college to earn a degree in business administration. She eventually went on to earn a master’s degree in organizational management.
Ultimately, it’s Lucille who keeps Shaq going. That’s why he supports her so much. “My source of energy comes from one person. Dr. Lucille O’Neal, that’s my mother,” O’Neal once said on The Jennifer Hudson Show.
On top of paying off her debts, Shaq also bought his mother a Mercedes and a new house during his playing career. He even later hired both her and his stepfather to work for him. Now, Lucille is the founder of the Mothers of Professional Basketball Players, which supports youth organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club. It’s why O’Neal is so involved in philanthropy today. He and his mother have built a familial business that revolves around his identity and giving back to the community.
