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“280lb Is Too Skinny”: 7 ft Giant Shaquille O’Neal, Who Started Bodybuilding Journey to Beat Death, Exposes Struggles of Being a Big Man

Published 04/13/2023, 11:24 AM EDT

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Everyone in the NBA world is familiar with the phenomenon of Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq’s influence extends beyond the NBA court as he is a pretty successful businessman owning over 150 restaurants and carwashes. Shaq, who stands at over 7 feet tall and weighs easily over 300 pounds, has won multiple NBA championships with different teams(Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat) over the years.

He never fails to amaze his audience with his personality and sense of humor. Although his physique has helped him a great deal in his career, he recently opened up about his weight struggles in a podcast.

Shaq opens up about the struggle of being huge

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In an interview given to NBA on TNT, Shaq made several comments on his physique. In a question asked about his beard style, he reportedly said, “This face only looks good when I’m skinny. Speaking of skinny I’m 10 pounds away from my destinated weight.” When asked how much he weighs, he replied, “I’m not gonna say. I don’t want people to go Shaq weighs 397 pounds.”

via Imago

He further added, “280 is too skinny. I was 401. I was 379 when I beat Spice in a shirt-off competition. I went into the hospital at 375. Way below 375 right now. ” He went on to reveal his desired weight. He said, “350 is the goal weight but if I don’t see the eight pack I’m a take it even lower.” 

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His towering figure has helped him dominate the game in his playing days, but he’s had trouble with his mass since he retired. Shaq is arguably the greatest center alongside Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

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He has had countless dunks on his opponents and has successfully broken several backboards in his playing career, but it’s quite sad to see the former NBA superstar facing difficulties with his body. He revealed he is relying on bodybuilding and hospital visits to maintain his body weight.

Shaq turned to bodybuilding for weight loss

In an interview with Nischelle Turner from Entertainment Tonight, Shaq revealed he wants to have a ripped physique because he wants to be in underwear ads. He said he wasn’t paying heavy attention to the kind of food he was putting inside his body. He said, “So, he was saying you can’t do this, you can’t do that, more vegetables, my iron’s low. And once I just started changing those certain things, it (weight) dropped.” He added, “Plus the supplements I’m taking, and the shakes I’m drinking, the weight just fell off. I’m not at 100 percent ninja mode yet. I’m still 75 percent.

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WATCH THIS STORY: Millionaire Charles Barkley may be in a 1,000,000,000 $ debt to Shaquille O’Neal

It’s quite sad to see such a respected and charming personality struggling with his physical aspects. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Written by:

Aaditya Negi

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Aaditya is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports and has been following the game for a number of years. He is an avid fan of the NBA and follows what’s happening in the league on a daily basis. Having worked as an intern in the sports domain, his passion for writing arose from his fondness for the intricacies of the game.
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Edited by:

Debmallya Chakraborty