It’s no secret that Shaquille O’Neal is quite the large man. While he’s listed as weighing around 325lbs, he reached well over 390lbs after he’d completed his three-peat with the Los Angeles Lakers before slimming down with the Miami Heat. Not to mention the fact that the 4x NBA champion stands at 7-foot 1-inch.
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Shaq used his size to his advantage while dominating in the league. He was incredibly agile for a man of his stature and clogged up the paint on both ends of the floor. There were however, moments in his life where his size came at a disadvantage to him and even his family.
Also read: “Michael Jordan Was One Of 3 Men To Dunk On Me”: Shaquille O’Neal On Flaws In His 19-Year Career
Shaquille O’Neal on his mother fighting a bus driver
Shaquille O’Neal didn’t come from wealth. His mother, Lucille O’Neal, had him when she was very young, leading to her family shunning her away. She would have to deal with raising Shaq on her own with little to no help from people from the outside.
It was clear from when ‘The Big Aristotle’ was a child that he wasn’t going to grow into a man of average height. Even as a baby he looked years older than what he actually was. According to Shaq, this led to quite the problem as many didn’t believe he was the age that his mother claimed he was.
The most trouble Lucille ever got into when trying to convince someone of her son’s age was when she had to tell a bus driver that he was 2 years old. The driver didn’t believe her because of how big he was in size, leading to Lucille having to fight the bus driver. Shaq didn’t specify on whether this was a verbal or physical altercation.
The reason for why she fought that hard to make sure Shaq was considered to be 2 years old at the time was because kids 3 and under rode the bus for free. As money was tight, having O’Neal ride was something that would help on a daily basis.
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Lucille O’Neal eventually remarried
Shaquille O’Neal would go on to be raised by his mother and the man who she would marry after Joseph Toney: Philip Harrison. He was a military man and raised Shaq in quite the strict manner, always ready discipline him and set him on a right path.
It was Harrison who took his stepson to a Sixers game and saw him get enamored by Julius Erving, leading to Shaq wanting to become a basketball player. Harrison promised him he would make sure his dream came true and well, it did.
Also read: Retired Shaquille O’Neal Wants $10 Million NBA Job Following Adam Silver’s ‘Flirtations’ With Disney
