Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal is an American basketball player, musician, actor, and entrepreneur born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey.
O'Neal attended Robert G. Cole Junior-Senior High School before going on to study at Louisiana State University. His educational path continued well beyond his playing days, taking in the University of Phoenix, Barry University, Syracuse University, and the New York Film Academy — a span of institutions that reflects the range of directions his career would take. Early in his professional basketball career he earned the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and he went on to receive both the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. He was later inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
Away from basketball, O'Neal has worked across a striking number of fields. He is a rapper associated with the hip-hop genre, and his work as a musician runs alongside activity as a film actor, film producer, television producer, and screenwriter. He has also trained as a Thai boxer and built a portfolio as a real estate entrepreneur. His education at the New York Film Academy sits alongside his on-screen and behind-the-scenes roles, and he has taken on work as a sports commentator and podcaster, maintaining a public presence through broadcast and digital media.
O'Neal studied at several institutions over the years and holds credentials from multiple universities, suggesting a sustained engagement with formal education even while managing careers in entertainment, business, and media. The through line across his public life is versatility: basketball, hip-hop, film, television production, real estate, combat sports, and podcasting all appear in his professional record, making it difficult to pin him to any single category. The recurring thread across his work is a movement between competitive sport and entertainment, with hip-hop and screen work serving as consistent outlets alongside his life as an athlete and commentator.
Quotes by Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal's insights on:
I was a medium-level juvenile delinquent from Newark who always dreamed about doing a movie.
If you want Shaq to be Shaq, you’ve got to remember that Shaq is known for wreaking havoc offensively – 26,000-plus points without consistently making free throws. Don’t have me doing something I’m not used to doing. I ain’t used to being a pick-setter. Let me badda-bing, badda-bang.
I’m a cop, and cops talk. They called me the day he did it, but did you ever hear me say anything about it? I played ball, because that’s how I am. I’m true.
We’re focusing on the whole pie, not a slice. A slice is good, but it’s not good enough to get you fat. We’re trying to get fat.
I think it’s a great city. I think it’s a fabulous city. But in my young juvenile days, I was an idiot, and I bought 30 cars. And I need to drive those cars, and New York isn’t really the place you can do that.
A friend tweeted me with ‘The Big Freeze.’ I don’t know about that one. I’ve got to go home, play around with the kids and figure something out. I’ll have one.
He’s the president. I’m the general. Unless I want to get impeached, I got to do what he says.
A lot of times when I buy a lot of toys, I get a little jealous and keep one or two for myself. So I’ve got a couple of drones. I’ve got a couple of remote-control cars. I like to have fun.
It’s over now. He said what he had to say, I said what I had to say. Don’t play with me. Seriously, don’t play with me.