Shaquille O’Neal has always admired Marilyn Monroe. But his fascination with the Hollywood icon goes far beyond appreciation. Monroe changed pop culture forever in the 1950s, and Shaq’s admiration has reached an almost unbelievable level. Now, his latest revelation takes things somewhere nobody expected.

The NBA legend appeared on the Boardroom podcast with Jamie Salter, who leads Authentic Brands Group (ABG) as its founder and Executive Chairman. The global powerhouse manages a vast portfolio of major brands, including Reebok.

During their conversation with host Rich Kleiman, Shaquille O’Neal revealed, “J, we have this weird relationship where we come up with crazy ideas 3 or 4 in the morning. He only told me no, one time. So I called him at 4:00 a.m. I said, ‘Jamie, I got a great idea.'”

Shaq went on, “He said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘I want to marry Marilyn Monroe.'” How did Salter respond to the 54-year-old appeal? “Shut the hell up, Shaq,” O’Neal recalled Jamie’s answer. Salter added more to the story: “He did send me an AI version of him getting married to Marilyn.”

Back in February 2025, O’Neal took his Marilyn Monroe fascination to another level with a bizarre AI creation. The NBA legend imagined himself marrying the Hollywood icon and building a life together. The clip quickly grabbed attention across social media. Moreover, Shaq shared the Valentine’s Day fantasy with fans, with the caption, “Pls be my valentine, Marilyn Monroe.”

Meanwhile, Shaq’s connection to Monroe goes even deeper. He holds a stake in the rights tied to her name and image through ABG. Therefore, his investment gave him a slice of Monroe’s estate. Interestingly, the NBA icon shares that business connection with other cultural giants, including Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali.

Now, the most intriguing part about Shaquille O’Neal and Marilyn Monroe are failed marriages. Monroe’s love life included three widely known marriages. Each relationship eventually fell apart. She also spoke candidly about the difficulties she faced in those partnerships. The Hollywood icon once said, “It’s better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone.”

Meanwhile, earlier in 2022, Shaq also admitted to being the reason behind his failed marriage with Shaunie O’Neal. “I was bad,” he said on The Pivot Podcast. “She was awesome. She really was. It was all me.”

The ex-Lakers legend often spoke warmly about his family’s role during his playing days. However, his separation from Shaunie in 2009 left him feeling directionless. “I was just being greedy,” he said. “I had the perfect situation. Wife was finer than a mug, kept giving me babies, still finer than a mug. I had it all, and I don’t make excuses — I know I messed up.”

Well, Shaquille O’Neal likely found familiarity in Marilyn Monroe’s life. Therefore, he came up with the weird plan of marrying her. Unfortunately, that won’t happen. But, well, thoughts never cost a penny now, do they?