Abandoned by Felon Dad as a Toddler, Shaquille O?Neal Admits He Wasn?t Allowed to Change Last Name by Stepfather

NBA legend and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal grew up under the guidance of his step-father Phillip Harrison after his biological father, Joseph Toney, had abandoned him in his early years. However, what’s interesting is that Shaq’s surname remained unchanged despite not living with his biological father. The Big Diesel wanted to change his surname after acknowledging it but Harrison didn’t let him, for a particular reason.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend had a special bond with his step-father. Harrison was very strict but he was successful in instilling discipline in his son’s life, which ultimately helped the Diesel in the long run.

Shaquille O’Neal reveals why his step-father didn’t give permission to change his surname

In the latest episode of his podcast,?The Big Podcast with Shaq,?the four-time champion talked about a myriad of things related to the NBA world, with his regular panelists, Nischelle Turner and Spice Adams. In one instance, Turner asked him about the playoff matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves as the purple and gold recently added two new players to the roster: Tristan Thompson and Shaquille Harrison.

The 15x All-Star intervened and said, “You know what’s crazy about that – that what’s my name was supposed to be.” Turner was amazed after realizing the fact. Then Shaq proceeded to explain the reason why his father didn’t allow him to change his surname. He said, “My dad said, ‘You know what? I like Shaquille O’Neal because you’re going to be a famous basketball player one day, and it sounds better.”

The 3x Finals MVP continued, “If you watch my documentary, I didn’t even know he wasn’t my real dad. But when I found out, I was like ‘You are my dad? I want to change my name like everyone else.'” Subsequently, Shaq added, “He’s like, ‘Nope. Like Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal – so if you listen to me then it gonna be sweet forever.'”

Shaq once revealed his step-father didn’t tolerate any disrespect toward his family

In the process of revealing an interesting story about his father in a previous episode of his podcast, Shaq disclosed how his father never allowed anyone to disrespect his family. The Big Diesel once said he had to visit a police station after the police captain instructed him to do so through a phone call. The 3x Finals MVP further explained on his podcast what happened after he went there.

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Shaq said, “This dude had Calvin and Hobbes pissing symbol on a Shaq on his car. My father pulls the dude over and busts his window up. My dad was trying to kill the man.”?The 15x All-Star recalled that he asked his father about his actions. Shaq said his father replied by saying, “Man, nobody disrespects my family like that.”

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