Despite having a net worth of $400 million, Shaquille O’Neal is arguably as humble as they come. Despite being a seven-foot giant, the NBA legend could be referred to as the epitome of a gentle giant. These are just some of the traits of the four-time NBA champion who is beloved by everyone wherever he goes. 

The Big Aristotle just has an aura about himself that makes people so comfortable around him. And the fact that he is so approachable and easy to talk to is always a huge plus, in spite of his freakishly large body and built. 

The gentle giant – Shaquille O’Neal

But before Shaq turned into the gentle giant that he is today, he too was once an arrogant 18-19-year-old kid ready to make a name for himself in the league. However, Shaq has come a long way since being the dominating center that broke backboards and records throughout his 19-year career.

And a huge credit for his change in behavior goes to his parents, especially his mother, Lucille O’Neal. Shaq recently appeared on Gary Vaynerchuk’s YouTube channel where the two talked about multiple things from various topics.

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And one of the topics that were discussed was kindness. A member of the audience asked Shaq, “What role has kindness played in building your success?”

Shaquille O’Neal answered his question by saying, “My mother taught me a long time ago, ‘Cost you nothing to be nice’. When I first became Shaq, 18-19 years old, I was arrogant. My mother and my father are people you don’t talk back to.” 

“My father said, ‘Be careful who you step on, on your way to success’. And my mother would say, ‘Who the hell are you?’ That ended my arrogance,” added Shaq. Furthermore, while answering the man’s question, O’Neal wished he had the answer to homelessness too. 

The Los Angeles Lakers legend shared something that just broke his heart. He said, “We were in some city the other day and we saw a guy eating dirt. We were in Baltimore and we came under the bridge and the guy was eating dirt.”  

The reason why Shaq hated Ben Simmons wearing bling

Witnessing scenes like that are why Shaq chooses to remain humble and kind. However, kindness can take a backseat with the Los Angeles Lakers legend if he feels something is wrong. A few months ago, the Big Diesel berated Ben Simmons for wearing Gucci chains worth $300,000 while sitting on the bench for the Brooklyn Nets. Shaq said he understood Simmons was struggling with anxiety and mental health issues at the time, but he could understand why it was necessary to wear such expensive items while being on the sideline. 

“I can understand you have anxiety in the game. But when you are not playing and sitting on the bench and you know $300,000 Gucci and big chains and rings. Do you have anxiety then? That’s all I wanna know…”

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What did you make of Shaq’s comments? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.