“His Skeleton Was Big”: 1200 Lbs of Weight Ruined Shaquille O’Neal’s Body Beyond Repair

Shaquille O’Neal was among the heaviest players in the NBA during his playing days. His 7’1 height complemented his muscular body, making him arguably the most dominant athlete in the league. The Los Angeles Lakers legend’s dominance helped him attain four-NBA championships despite sustaining a number of injuries over the years. Being over 300lbs, witnessing Shaq’s athletic abilities was a sight to behold on the court. However, his strong build also resulted in adding 1200 lbs weight on his frame while playing, which heavily impacted his body.

Recently, former Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti talked about how Shaq’s tall and muscular physical features affected his body, in the docuseries, ‘From Shaquille to Shaq’. Vitti shared that O’Neal had to bear a staggering amount of weight on his frame when he was on the court.

Ex-Lakers trainer reveals how weight affected Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O’Neal was known for his physical game. Due to his huge frame, players often played more physically against Shaq and the Lakers legend never refrained from returning the favor. As a result, he would often have bad falls resulting in a number of injuries. Vitti recently shared the reason behind those injuries that Shaq sustained over the years.

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In the third episode of Shaq’s documentary, Gary Vitti said, “You know, Shaq was a big bone guy. His skeleton was big, it could handle all of that weight (pauses), to a point.”

“And the more weight you have on your body, the harder it is. Because in terms of ground force, it’s about four times the body weight. So, if Shaq is 300 lbs, and he was more than 300 lbs, every step that he’s hitting the floor, it’s about 1200 lbs on his frame,” he added.

Vitti reckoned that O’Neal had a big skeleton to support his 7ft tall body. However, the pressure that his frame received due to his weight was quite a lot. Moreover, Vitti laid out that every time Shaq landed on his feet, the weight his frame felt was four times his body weight.

The veteran trainer further explained that the 15-time All-Star’s weight led to a lot of pressure on his frame, resulting in many injuries and battling constant pain. The pressure was not kind on the Diesel’s knees as well, which also slowed him down in the later stages of his illustrious career.

Shaq found a solution for the pain

In the episode, Shaq admitted that he suffered from a lot of bizarre injuries. However, the Lakers legend claimed to have never experienced hamstring, knee, ACL, or MCL issues. He suffered from injuries like a broken thumb, busted knee capsule, finger injuries, and hip arthritis, which sidelined him from the court for short periods.

However, Shaquille O’Neal learned to play through pain over the years. Despite the injuries, Shaq was able to come to court due to his ritual. The Lakers legend shared that he had a ritual of taking painkillers before the game which helped with the pain.

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Thus, Shaq’s massive build caused some serious damage to his body over the years, resulting in a number of surgeries as well.