Already known for his comic roles in comedy movies like Kazaam and Blended, Shaquille O’Neal‘s recent hilarious attempt to prank fans almost worked. Many years have passed since the 4x NBA champion first stepped into the music world, and he continues to give one hit after another. Recently, he has turned his attention to EDM and often takes to social media to share clips of himself enjoying contemporary songs, sometimes lip-syncing as though he were singing them. He pulled a similar stunt recently.

In a new clip, Shaq is seen pretending to play the piano. He sat in his chair, dressed in a formal suit and looking suave. The camera is positioned at an angle where his hands move rhythmically on the piano keys as he plays his tune while he sings. However, his fingers remain hidden. Despite this, many viewers believed Shaq was playing the piano and praised his talent.

However, pianists quickly recognized it as another ruse. Fans also noted subtle mistakes that gave it away. It was perhaps another prank by DJ Diesel, who enjoys considerable popularity among rap and EDM enthusiasts. He has performed successful concerts, collaborates, and events, including those for his alma mater, Louisiana State University. Last year, he released his first EDM album, Gorilla Warfare.

Shaq first ventured into the music industry in 1993 with his debut album, Shaq Diesel. Though met with mixed reviews, the album reached No. 25 on the Billboard 200. Now, after retiring from basketball, he has pursued his music career more seriously. Not just that, apart from musical endeavors, Shaq also pranks his IG followers with stunts like this one. He captioned the clip, “Do I ever cross your mind.”

Fans almost fall for Shaquille O’Neal’s piano prank 

Upon closer inspection of the clip, Shaq’s feet aren’t moving enough to control the pedals. While there are other ways to avoid using the foot pedals, such as hand pedals, Shaq didn’t appear to be using one, as noticed by this fan who wrote, “Bruh…at some point your foot needs to hit one of those pedals at the bottom. #IJS 😂” Another fan joked about “Unk got the panio on auto tune.”

Some appreciated his efforts but claimed that they wouldn’t be fooled so easily this time as a pianist fan wrote, “If I wasn’t a pianist, I mighta thought those huge fingers could’ve made those beautiful sounds.”

Dubbed “Shaqtoven” by a fan, O’Neal might not be a pianist, but he knows how to DJ. He performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago, where 115,000 gathered to watch him perform. The Shaq’s Bass All-Stars Festival, featuring the Los Angeles Lakers legend and several other stars, has been incredibly successful, drawing an impressive 15,000 attendees. But this fan offered to help and wrote, “Let me come show you how to play that for real!!” 

A moment of silence for the fan who fell for the prank, as one wrote, “WOW MY BOY IS TALENTED🤯🤯🤯I SEE WHY HE GET ALLLLL THE LADIES💪🏿💪🏿” And a strong word of appreciation should go to fans who got fooled by it at first but eventually realized it, as this one who wrote, “Almost got me.”

Just recently, he surprised fans by performing with his son, Myles O’Neal, a musician. Alongside Myles, the father and son duo introduced their new double-act, the O’Neal Boyz, at Tomorrowland 2024. While DJ Diesel continues to expand his career, his son is slowly making a name for himself.