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via Getty

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It seems like only a while ago when Shaquille O’Neal was breaking backboards and dominating the hardwood. But he has already reached half a century in terms of his age. At 50 years old-about to be 51, Shaq still looks awfully fit for his age. And a lot of the credit for that goes to the strict diet and workout regimen that he adheres to. About a year ago, the Big Diesel was seen dunking in an Instagram video posted by one of the O’Neal boys. However, Shaquille O’Neal’s age may finally be catching up to him as he recently revealed a health condition that currently prevents him from dunking the basketball.

Recently, Shaq sat down with WNBA legend Candace Parker on his ‘The Big Podcast With Shaq.’ Shaq, Parker, and co-host Nischelle Turner touched on various topics regarding what’s going on in the league and their personal lives as well. Meanwhile, the four-time NBA champion disclosed that he will be undergoing surgery for a health condition.

Shaquille O’Neal will be preparing to undergo surgery

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During a recent episode of the Big Podcast, the trio started talking about an old video of Candace Parker taking on two of the most prolific dunkers in league history. Back in 2004, Candace Parker participated in a dunk contest with Josh Smith and J.R. Smith at the McDonald’s All-American contest.

This led the Los Angeles Lakers legend to ask Parker whether she could still dunk now. Parker replied, “A donut. I don’t know, if I tried, I probably could dunk, I just probably can’t land. And landing as you get older, it gets harder and harder.” After hearing this, co-host Nischelle Turner brought up the video of Shaq and one of his sons dunking at the gym.

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Turner asked O’Neal how long ago that was. To which, Shaq replied that it was a year-old video. That is when the 7’1″ giant revealed a serious health condition he was suffering from, which prevented him from dunking like the old days. Shaq said, “You know, my hip and I gotta get surgery.”

“But after my surgery, I may come back, try to pass up LeBron in most points,” he added jokingly. All three ended up laughing when Shaq revealed how many points he is short of LeBron James in the tally.

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Shaq touches on his professional jealousy again

Recently, Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he had some ‘professional’ jealousy towards LeBron James. This was when James surpassed the Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points in NBA history. And his comments during his podcast reveals that he still thinks about the matter.

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NFL legend Shannon Sharpe and NBA analyst Skip Bayless did a whole segment on this. If O’Neal had taken care of his body, he would’ve been much higher on the all-time points list instead of where he is now.

Regardless, at 50 years old, Shaq is bound to have a few problems with his body, given how much pressure he put on himself during his playing days. Here’s to hoping everything goes well with the big man’s surgery. And he stays fit for years to come.