“I’m the ambassador of having fun.” This is how the Lakers icon Shaquille O’Neal likes to define himself and certainly, he’s following it very closely as well. In a league where talent meets temptation, NBA players’ off-court habits have often made more headlines than their on-court heroics. From Dennis Rodman’s infamous Las Vegas escapades during the 1998 NBA Finals to Lamar Odom’s tragic battle with substance abuse that derailed his career, the NBA’s history is dotted with cautionary tales of excess. However, Shaquille O’Neal, who once exhausted $8 million in just two days, recently revealed a new habit that is making waves in the NBA community.

The latest stir in this ongoing saga comes from an unexpected source – Shaquille O’Neal’s recent podcast revelation during an episode of Roberto Mtz’s ‘Creativo’, about his supposedly tame lifestyle preferences. “I just work and relax… yeah ao I work and when I get done working I come home and watch Netflix,” said O’Neal. When further asked by the host what he does in his free time, O’Neal replied, “Just watching TV, yeah that’s it. I don’t go to parties I don’t drink. I don’t do any of that stuff. I just go home and watch TV,” said Shaquille O’Neal during the podcast. However, this statement raises eyebrows when contrasted with Shaq’s well-documented history with nightlife entertainment.

Let’s rewind to a few years back when the news of Shaq owning a hookah bar had come to light. However, the reason for owning the hookah bar was quite interesting. Charles Barkley, during an interview with Danny Green in 2021, said that Shaq was a huge fan of smoking but hated to go out for drinks when the crew of ‘Inside the NBA’ on TNT pulled all-nighters during playoff season. So the seven-footer had come up with a genius plan so that he never felt left out.

“He’s like, ‘I solved my problem. We’re like, ‘We didn’t know you had a problem.’ I found something to do after the show. We’re like, ‘What’s that?’ He says ‘I bought a hookah bar. We’re like what? He said, ‘Yeah, I bought a hookah bar so I have somewhere to go after the show.’ We’re like that’s how you solve a problem,” revealed Barkley during the interview.

These inconsistencies don’t stop there. Throughout the 2000s, Shaq’s party presence was legendary. From his star-studded Miami Beach parties during his Heat tenure to his famous “Shaq’s Fun House” Super Bowl events, O’Neal’s reputation as an entertainment mogul seemed to contradict his recent claims of preferring quiet night-ins. Moreover, it’s almost impossible for the seven-footer to stay away from partying since he currently works as an EDM artist which involves him going to different clubs and festivals.

Now this can be speculated that Shaq has really stopped partying for no reason and he considers his EDM gigs as a business. While the Los Angeles Lakers veteran makes a tour across Mexico to launch his new basketball shoe brand, this revelation has indeed made waves across the NBA community. However, this hookah habit also created some positive connections.

Shaquille O’Neal’s hookah bar habit that resulted in a long-term friendship

The Big Aristotle has been a household name for his basketball skills and also for his rapping skills. But when you become a rapper and get involved with the industry you start liking other artists’ songs. The same was the case with Shaq. His love for the songs of a particular rapper from Houston and his love for hookah resulted in a bond that the seven-footer cherishes to date.

During the latest episode of the ‘Whozfire‘ podcast, Shaquille O’Neal revealed the first time when he met the famous rapper from Houston, Frazier Othel Thompson aka Trae tha Truth. “You remember how we met?… I was a fan of his before I knew who he was. So I heard a song that he did with TI, that s**t was bumping. So I was in a hookah bar one day, Trae would come to me and say I’m Trae the truth. And before he can say something like, you Trae the Truth? [Shaq making a pointing gesture]. And then I would bump some of his other old music that I didn’t even know that it was him. So I was a fan of his way before we met but that was like what 10 years ago?” said Shaq during the podcast.

The Lakers veteran had also revealed during the podcast that Trae always brought gifts for him. Moreover, the fans even got a live example when the rapper gifted O’Neal a brand new boombox player with Superman stickers on the speaker mesh.  It can be now speculated that the boombox is sure to become a treasured possession, serving as a constant reminder of their enduring friendship and shared passion for music. As for the Hookah bar, only time will tell how many more people it will bring closer to Shaq.