With Death As A Possibility, Shaquille O’Neal’s Insomnia Arose From Sister Ayesha Harrison And Kobe Bryant’s Passing

With all of the accomplishments and achievements Shaquille O’Neal has stacked up atop his resume, he’s actually had quite the harrowing personal life over the years. He’s had everything from loved ones pass away to feeling an immense amount of guilt over his marriage falling apart from Shaunie O’Neal. 

NBA fans see O’Neal as a ‘jolly giant’ who cracks jokes on NBAonTNT alongside Chuck, Ernie, and Kenny, but don’t understand just how much he goes through on a day-to-day basis. He seems to be doing a bit better now from the mental aspect of things as he has opened up a lot about his mental state during his new HBO Max docuseries. 

One thing the 4x NBA champion has not shied away from talking about is his feelings towards losing both his sister, Ayesha Harrison-Jex, and his former Lakers teammate, Kobe Bryant.

Also read: Shaunie O’Neal’s $50,000 Per Month Alimony From Shaquille O’Neal Came Despite Creating Hit Reality TV Show ‘Basketball Wives’

Shaquille O’Neal on developing insomnia after losing Kobe Bryant and his sister 

Shaquille O’Neal grew up with 3 siblings: Ayesha, Lateefah, and Jamal. Ayesha was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2016 and in October of 2019, passed away from the cancer. Shaq would miss that night’s ‘Inside the NBA’ segment and would receive a ton of love from his 3 co-hosts. 

A mere months later, Kobe Bryant would pass away in a tragic helicopter crash in Los Angeles. Shaq, having spent 8 years of his 19-year career alongside Kobe, considered him to be a little brother to him. His passing broke ‘The Big Aristotle’ emotionally as he would break down on camera numerous times. 

In the new ‘SHAQ’ docuseries, he has revealed how the short gap between losing both Ayesha and Kobe led to him developing insomnia. He was not able to sleep at night and when he did, he would wake up earlier than need be. This also led to him being diagnosed with sleep apnea. 

Shaquille O’Neal was told he could die from his sleep apnea 

Shaquille O’Neal developed sleep apnea in these past few years and it has caused him to re-evaluate his health-related life choices. Reality especially kicked in when he was told by the doctors that he could actually die from sleep apnea. 

The hypertension and strokes caused from sleep apnea could result in death and with him being 50, this chance of this happening only increases. So, now, Shaq has to use a sleep inducing machine to fall asleep.

Also read: Accused of Using “fake jewels”, Shaquille O’Neal Received a “$37,250” Tribute From This $1.048 Billion Watchmaker