Shaquille O’Neal loved being a goofy kid and making the best out of Halloween. However, sometimes his gargantuan height would come in his way. By 11, Shaq was already 6’4″, something beyond the average for an 11-year-old. Shaq had to stop one of his favorite activities, i.e., trick-0r-treat-ing, when he was called out because of his height.
Advertisement
In the book Shaq Talks Back, the former Los Angeles Lakers center wrote about his experience growing up during Halloweens. Depending on his mood, he described dressing up as a lady or an old grandmother. He continued this get-up for a long time until someone called him out for being ‘too tall’ for asking for tricks and treats.
Shaquille O’Neal revealed his favorite get-up during Halloween was to dress like a lady
In the book Shaq Talks Back, Shaq wrote about some embarrassing incidents that his mom would describe. One such incident was his dressing like a lady every Halloween. He would call himself ‘Shaqunda’ and dress as either a young lady or a grandmother. Over the years, he wore a wig and ugly lipstick to emphasize his look as a grandmother better. Describing this, Shaq wrote in his book,
“My mother could tell even more embarrassing stories, but I think the Halloween one hurt the most. It meant I could no longer dress up as Shaquanda—either this sexy girl or a grandma, depending on my mood. Most times it was a grandma, but for a few years, I would put on a wig and ugly lipstick, pretend I had these gigantic br**sts. I already had this big ole ghetto b**ty. Even as a kid, I was a comedian. It was a good way to hide my insecurities about being so big.”
However, Shaq never knew his insecurity about being big would return, biting him. When he turned 11, Shaq was massive, 6’4″. This was beyond the average height of an 11-year-old, which made Shaq a really big kid. However, despite his height, Shaq was a child of similar attributes to his age group. He would often be ridiculed for his looks, leading him to stop his Halloween practice. In the book, Shaq added,
“I had to stop trick-or-treating when I was eleven years old. I was about 6’4″ and when I would go to the door, people would just stand there, looking at me with their eyes wide open. ‘You too big to be trick-or-treating, ain’t you?’ they would say.”
Shaq adopted new ways to overcome his bad experiences during Halloween
Shaquille O’Neal’s childhood experience during Halloween surely did not pay out well for him. He eventually stopped celebrating Halloween. However, he has found new experiences to make festive seasons memorable for his children.
Over the years, with wise business choices and an illustrious NBA career, Shaq has accumulated millions of dollars in his net worth. This allows him the leverage to buy any luxury in the world. Whenever his children used to ask for anything during Christmas, he would go beyond his way to get those things for them. He called himself ‘Shaq-a-Claus’ for being exactly like a big, round Santa Claus to his children.
