Shaquille O’Neal Admits His “Worst Fear” Despite Performing for Over 50,000 Fans: “Scares Me”

Playing in front of the gallery has always been Big Diesel’s strong suit. From thrilling about 20,000 spectators in an NBA arena, Shaquille O’Neal has upgraded to deejaying at festivals with 18,000 to 50,000 strong bass heads. And yet he’s not immune to a fair degree of stage fright. That is a big deterrent to Shaq adding standup comedy to his extensive resume. It’s something he tells comedian and old friend, Tom Segura, when he featured on The Big Podcast this week.

O’Neal wanted Segura’s insight into what made him want to become a comedian. Because as witty as Shaq is on Reels and TNT, “but comedy scares me,” he said to explain why he’s scared of pursuing comedy full-time. “That’s my worst fear – bombing.” And Shaq’s seen that happen a lot.

As Segura pointed out, O’Neal has a big presence in the comedy community. He frequents standup shows, like the Comedy Store in LA. In that club, he’s seen one too many jokes fall flat and he’s too scared to be in a comedian’s place if they bomb. “I don’t like to let the people down,” Shaq said. That sentiment holds for comedy, basketball, and music.

In 2023, DJ Diesel entered 50,000 EDM maniacs at the Imagine Music Festival. He also threw his own EDM festival, Shaq’s Bass All-Stars, that hosted 18,000 fans at its launch. Shaq didn’t bomb there. He doesn’t think he’s anywhere close to a top-tier DJ but he gets invited to perform at the Lollapalooza and Lost Lands stages annually with crowds larger than when he filled up NBA arenas.

But he has had occasions of bombing on the court, mostly when it came to free throws. That came up in conversation with Segura too who admitted comedy is very challenging. That’s why O’Neal sticks to basketball, studio analysis, commercials, movies, and music festivals. It still surprised Segura that he was shy about pursuing comedy.

Shaquille O’Neal’s a natural comedian

As his guest pointed out, Shaq’s been around comedy forever. The closest Shaq comes to standup is featuring in celebrity roasts and producing the All-Star Comedy Jam, which was both televised and is held in Las Vegas annually. But O’Neal says that just as people underestimate NBA players until they’re at the three-point line with the crowd watching, comedy has the same challenge.

He’s selling himself short, though. Tom Segura and Adam Lefkoe do think that if Shaq had the chance, he’d make 50,000 people laugh in 5 seconds. Both even said that Shaq and the TNT crew’s comedy antics – from race to the board to random stunt training – are what makes Inside the NBA so great. Yet nothing would convince Shaq to try standup.

Shaq’s entertained massive crowds in multiple ways. Do you think he’d be just as dominant as a standup comedian?