Who would have ever thought that 7ft giant Shaquille O’Neal would get into a ‘violent dispute’ with a shark?? But the Los Angeles Lakers legend did and succeeded in escaping the situation as well. It has been about five years since the incident took place and it seems like the Big Aristotle was again reminded of his near-death experience recently via an alarming clip. However, Shaq didn’t just keep the video to himself. The Hall of Famer also took the liberty to share it with his millions of followers on Instagram.

Near-death experiences are not something a person could easily forget. This is probably why most people tend to avoid going to certain places or looking at particular objects that could serve as a reminder of the dreadful situation, but not Shaq. While he did admit once that a shark is the scariest animal, Shaq has seemingly overcome the life-threatening incident.

Shaquille O’Neal unlocks ‘new fear’

Considered one of the most dominating players with a huge frame, you can assume there are only a select few things that could scare the Big Aristotle. One of them is sharks, but of course, it obviously had a lot to do with his direct encounter with the ocean beast. Nevertheless, the dangerous encounter probably left Shaq with a bone-chilling experience that will always remain etched in his memories. The 51-year-old basketball legend recently tapped into that memory when he came across a video of a shark on social media.

It was a video that was filmed by a diver who goes by the name ‘Zimy Da Kid’ on Instagram. In the short clip, the curious tiger shark approached the diver and took hold of his 360-degree camera in its mouth. Consequently, the camera recorded the inside of the shark’s body as it tried to chomp on it. The majestic creature finally gave up and spit it out before swimming away.

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While this is not the only encounter where an ocean creature has tried to bite down on equipment, it never fails to stun viewers anyway.

Shaq’s life-saving punch

The incident occurred when Shaquille O’Neal took part in a show called ‘Shark Week’ in 2018. As the name suggests, it is a shark-based program where Shaq took an up-close look at the dangerously beautiful creatures of the sea. About four years later, in 2022, the 3x Finals MVP recalled his experience in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert when the host asked him who he thought the scariest animal was.

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Shaq said, “Actually, a shark. I did Shark Week, and I almost died. Some genius who built the cage had an opening this big. I saw it but I didn’t think about it, and when I realized it, the shark was coming toward the thing and I thought he looks like he’s coming in. And when he came in, I just stayed at the bottom. Then he came down, and I was like aaah! And I bumped him and I got out of the water so fast.”

What are your thoughts on the clip shared by O’Neal? Let us know in the comments.