Shaquille O’Neal has had quite a life, be it on or off the court. From conquering the league to becoming the most dominant center in the history of the NBA. To earn millions post his retirement with intelligent and savvy investments, Shaq has seen and done it all. However, there was a time when his emotions got the best of him, and he almost lost his life. Shaq revealed what caused that scenario in his book back in 2011, the year of his retirement.

The story about his near-death accident was when ‘The Big Aristotle’ played for the Miami Heat. Like many others, when the big man had too much going on in his mind, he would often take out his car for a drive to clear his mind.

When Shaquille O’Neal almost lost his life

Shaquille O’Neal narrated the story in his book, ‘Shaq Uncut.’ He mentioned that if he had a tiff with his ex-wife or the Heat President, Pat Riley, Shaq would go out on a drive. One of his favorite routes was from Miami to Fort Lauderdale.

The four-time NBA champion tended to drive there, sit near the still water, listen to the waves, calm himself down, and head home. However, on one of his trips, while heading back home, Shaq was going 190 miles an hour.

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A car cut him off, and the seven-footer had to make a quick turn. The car spun out of control, spinning five times. The thoughts racing through Shaq’s head were, “My first thought was, I’m going into the wall and flipping over into the water. This is it. This is how I’m going to die.”

Although, Shaq was lucky enough to avoid colliding with anything. The car kept spinning, and he was facing the opposite direction when the vehicle came to a halt. He got out of the car to stop his knees from buckling.

That is when the four-time NBA champion decided to never drive that car again, and he didn’t. Considering himself lucky, Shaq stuck to his promise.

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While Shaq’s life may seem colorful from afar, even the multi-millionaire NBA legend has had his ups and downs. However, none of that mattered when his life flashed in front of his eyes back then.

It was a blessing that Shaq walked away from the whole incident without even a scratch. And he sure did make sure that he made the most of his life after that, living every day to the fullest.