Shaquille O’Neal found unbound success as an athlete but his mother’s wish for a doctor in the family pushed him down another path.
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Shaquille O’Neal is likely one of the most successful NBA stars ever. The 7’1″ guard found heights of fame very early in his career.
The LSU graduate was one of the most anticipated rookies of his draft class. He was picked first by the Orlando Magic in 1992 and O’Neal immediately went to work.
His dominance was visible from the get-go. The 20-year-old came to the league with the confidence of an established star and registered himself among the greatest.
But despite his triumph as an athlete, it wasn’t enough for Shaq to just be another NBA great. He wished to be more.
The 4-time league champion is one of the most successful athlete entrepreneurs. His investments have yielded him great results. Now, he is worth an impressive $400 million.
However, despite his monetary gains, O’Neal has kept his drive to learn new things alive. You’d assume an athlete who dominated the sport to such an extent would probably not care about education.
Not Shaq. Shaq has always been upfront about his thoughts on education. He believes it to be of utmost importance and always pushed his children to excel in academics.
It’s most likely that O’Neal’s mother instilled this respect for education in her son. She was the same inspiration for her own son’s academic growth.
Shaquille O’Neal earned his Ph.D. after his mother emphasized lack of doctors in the family
Shaq revealed in an interview how his mother once pointed out how their family had no doctors. O’Neal took that comment upon himself and dedicatedly pursued his education.
Shaquille O’Neal: “My mama comes in. She set me up to, she’s like, ‘you know we’ve no doctors in the family.’ ‘Like what do you mean?’ She said, ‘we don’t have any PhDs in the family.’ So, I’m like ‘I could be the first out of all the O’Neals to be a doctor? Okay, I’ll be back.’ So then I go to Barry University, it took me five years. I became a PhD.”
Athletes are usually extremely well-paid. Superstars make enough money to dwarf Hollywood stars’ paychecks to shame. So, it’s no surprise education takes a backseat for these sportsmen.
Not for O’Neal though. His dedication to academics helped him get his doctorate in education. And it wasn’t an honorary degree, O’Neal went to school and earned it.
Shaq loves his mother. He has been known to profess his love for her on many occasions. In fact, Shaq used his first $1 million paycheck to buy his mother a house.
