Marlon Wayans dropped by The Big Podcast this week. Which means an hour of Shaq in splits. The NBA legend and the comedic actor, though, have more in common than you think. They’re the same age, both relied on family growing up, and have similar parenting styles. When Wayans talks about supporting his three kids, Shaquille O’Neal also brings up his ‘seven’ kids (Shaq can name every Wayan but tends to forget how many kids he has). They’ve each had strict fathers and it’s something they prefer not to be.

The younger of the Wayans brothers said that he never hit his kids, Shawn and Kai, except for instance. O’Neal countered, “I never hit my kids, never,” on The Big Podcast.

Marlon believes that’s good because, “you too big, you’d break them.” He feels that the 7’1″ giant’s presence alone is enough to intimidate every kid. But that’s not the reason why O’Neal has the self-made “funny disciplinarian” approach.

He said on the show, So Mini Ways in 2022,  “I never spank my kids. I used to chase them around like I was a wild dog. ‘Didn’t I tell you to come here?’ Especially like when they were little … So it was a little different, but it worked for me.”

It stems from his childhood growing up under a strict military (step)father. Shaq admits that he got up to minor acts of delinquency as a kid, which resulted in his parents, Lucille O’Neal and Phillip Harrison’s harsh discipline. Shaq once said there was no spanking, but the Sarge hit him with a belt. Yet he says that he deserved it and if it wasn’t for Harrison, he’d be in prison.

Shaq had a village raising his kids

Marlon Wayans father was the tough disciplinarian too and he didn’t want to be that way. Shaq has a similar outlook. “I got corporally punished. I won’t do that with my children. But it worked for me,” he’s said in the past.

O’Neal, through his song “Biological Didn’t Bother” and Lucille, on Raising Fame, said that Shaq and Phillip had a big blowup when the former was 15. That time Harrison set the ground rules about who’s in charge. O’Neal claimed he never acted out since.

He credits Harrison for shaping him as a dad. But there’s a line he draws. When his kids were younger, O’Neal would cover their heads and slap his own hand, so he’s not really hitting them. As Harrison used to tell him to take care of the ladies, he was softer on his three daughters, than he was on his three sons.

Moreover, Shaq’s grateful to his co-parents, Arnetta Yardbourgh and Shaunie Henderson for raising their “six perfect kids.” Thanks to them, he gets to play good cop.