Shaquille O’Neal travels around the world in his private jet. Every single amenity imaginable in an aircraft gets delivered to his private jet while he avails all the luxuries of life. Occasionally, Shaq is seen flying in business class on commercial flights. In short, with the staggering wealth he has accumulated, Shaq can even buy an airline if he wants to. With that said, the four-time NBA Champion’s life was not always filled with expensive indulgences. In his recent HBO docuseries, Shaq recounted the experience of his first-ever journey on a plane.

Growing up in a struggling household, Shaq had seen the tough side of life. Despite receiving an education and having a roof to live under, his parents struggled to make ends meet. Amidst these struggles, his family had to move around the country due to his father Sergeant Philip Harrison’s commitment to the armed forces.

Shaquille O’Neal recounted his first flight experience in a ‘cargo plane’

Shaq and his family had to move on several instances, which involved leaving the country. As seen on the show, the entire family had to relocate to a base camp in Wildflecken, Germany when Shaq was just a teenager. For starters, the Big Aristotle wasn’t even aware of where Germany was located. When he questioned his father, he was yelled at. Harrison said, “Get your a** on the plane.”

The concept of traveling by air was new to Shaq’s family. Hence the journey to Germany was a tough one. Furthermore, they traveled on cargo planes which meant that the seats and amenities provided were nothing compared to a commercial flight. His mother, Lucille O’Neal, opened up about this experience on HBO’s SHAQ docuseries. She said, “I can’t say that we weren’t ready. But we were a little bit fearful because we had never been on a plane before.”

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They were scared, but they didn’t feel alone. As Lucille stated, a lot of other military families were joining them in this process of moving. The journey was “a long long ride”.

The move to Germany was a blessing

Despite all the troubles, moving to Germany was a blessing in disguise for Shaquille O’Neal. The base camp was located in a secluded location. Hence, there were no distractions as there was nothing to do. Shaq took this opportunity to focus on learning and playing the game of basketball.

It was in Germany where he also met his LSU college coach, Dale Brown. In their first interaction, Shaq left a good impression on Coach Brown. This led to a strong relationship between the two.

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