Apart from being an NBA legend, Shaquille O’Neal is known for his massive stature. Standing at an astonishing 7ft 1in and weighing more than 350 pounds, his physique provided him with an advantage during his NBA days. However, it created a few drawbacks as well as he struggled for fitness late in his career. The 4x NBA champion has now turned it around, though, and is probably in the best of his life at the age of 51. Nonetheless, Shaq’s build still prevents him from enjoying a few pleasurable activities.

The 15x NBA All-Star recently revealed a life-threatening incident that left him gasping for air.

Shaquille O’Neal can’t do certain activities because of his physique

Bobbi Althoff, a 26-year-old YouTuber who hosts her own show titled ‘The Really Good Podcast’, interviewed O’Neal recently. Ahead of the release of the episode, she took to her official Instagram handle to share a clip with her 2.2 Million followers. Althoff proceeded to ask Shaq about the things that he wishes to do but can’t due to his height.

Shaq didn’t have to think long before proceeding to list down “Skydive” and “Scuba Dive”. The interviewer was surprised that his height prevented him from performing a water-based activity. “I feel like if you just stand up in the ocean you can reach the bottom,” she said, taking a dig at Shaq’s big stature.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend then proceeded to correct himself by stating, “I’m too heavy. When you Scuba Dive, they give you weights. Then when I went down, I hit the button, but I never came back up,” said Shaq, possibly recalling an actual incident that took place with him. Having almost drowned, Shaq waited for his “instincts” to kick in.

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When asked by the interviewer whether the 4x NBA champion “flailed” until he reached up, Shaq replied that he just said the famous word “Shaqmu”. The word is a funny play at “Shamu”, a female captive orca that performed acrobatic shows at SeaWorld. By imitating the actions of the fish, Shaq said that he just waved his head around until he reached the surface.

Amazed at what she heard, Althoff asked whether any of the stories that Shaq told her were real. Shaq replied back with a “Yeah”. In order to maintain his innocence, O’Neal even took to the comments section of the video to write “Just to be clear, these stories are 100% real.” 

Shaquille O’Neal’s stunning transformation

Shaquille O’Neal has always faced issues with weight. The situation became much worse for him back in 2020. Losing both his sister Ayesha and his former teammate Kobe Bryant in the same year, O’Neal adopted food as a coping mechanism, causing him to reach an astonishing 415 pounds. After his doctor asked “Do you wanna die?”, the Big Diesel decided to make a change.

During a recent interview with ET, Shaq revealed that he has lost over 50 pounds, currently weighing 351 lbs. Spending some quality time at the gym, the 51-year-old is determined to get in an even better shape by setting certain goals in his mind.

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While he may be not at “100% Ninja Mode”, Shaquille O’Neal hopes to improve his health for better and enjoy whatever life brings his way.