O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, who played high school basketball (he was an All-State guard) and was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's Jamaican stepfather, Phillip Arthur Harrison, a career Army sergeant.[17][18][19] O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship.[19] On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don't hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."[20]

O'Neal came from a tall family. His father and mother were 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall, respectively, and by age 13, O'Neal was already 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall. He credited the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team."[21] Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in Germany and Texas.[22]

After returning from Germany, O'Neal's family settled in San Antonio, Texas. By age 16, O'Neal had grown to 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), and he began playing basketball at Robert G. Cole High School. He led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year.[23] His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification.[24] O'Neal's tendency to make hook shots earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, inspiring him to wear the same jersey number as Abdul-Jabbar, No. 33. However, his high school team did not have a 33 jersey, so O'Neal chose to wear No. 32 before college.[25]


Beginning in 1993, O'Neal began to compose rap music. He released five studio albums and 1 compilation album. Although his rapping abilities were criticized at the outset,[176][177] one critic credited him with "progressing as a rapper in small steps, not leaps and bounds".[178] His 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel, received platinum certification from the RIAA.

O'Neal was featured alongside Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on "2 Bad", a song from Jackson's 1995 album HIStory. He contributed three tracks, including the song "We Genie", to the Kazaam soundtrack.[179] O'Neal was also featured in Aaron Carter's 2001 hit single "That's How I Beat Shaq". Shaq also appears in the music video for the release.[180]

Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.

O'Neal also started DJing in the 1980s at LSU.[181] Currently, he produces electronic music and tours the world under the stage name, DIESEL and managed by Medium Rare.[182]

In July 2017, O'Neal released a diss track aimed at LaVar Ball, the father of NBA point guard Lonzo Ball. The three-minute song was released in response to Ball claiming him and his younger son LaMelo, would beat O'Neal and his son Shareef in a game of basketball.

On October 23, 2021, O'Neal performed his first ever set as DJ DIESEL on the bassPOD stage at the 2021 Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada.[183][184][185]


O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his B.A. degree in general studies from LSU,[186] with a minor in political science.[187] Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job". Subsequently, O'Neal earned an online MBA degree through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In reference to his completion of his MBA degree, he stated: "It's just something to have on my resume for when I go back into reality. Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."[188]

Toward the end of his playing career, he began work on an educational doctorate at Barry University.[189][190] His doctoral capstone[191][192] topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles".[189][193] O'Neal received his Ed.D. degree in Human Resource Development from Barry in 2012.[194] O'Neal told a reporter for ABC News that he plans to further his education by attending law school.[195]

In 2009, O'Neal attended the Sportscaster U. training camp at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, saying "You have to know what you’re doing... I needed to learn the secrets".[196][197]

O'Neal has also studied directing and cinematography with the New York Film Academy's Filmmaking Conservatory.[198]

Video games
O'Neal was featured on the covers of video games NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004.[211][212][213][214] O'Neal appeared in the arcade version of NBA Jam (1993), NBA Jam (2003) and NBA Live 2004 as a current player and as a 1990s All-Star. O'Neal starred in Shaq Fu, a fighting game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. A sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, was released in 2018.[215] O'Neal also appeared in Backyard Basketball in 2004, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 as a playable boxer, and as an unlockable character in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. O'Neal was also an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010.[216]

Television
O'Neal and his mother, Lucille Harrison, were featured in the documentary film Apple Pie, which aired on ESPN.[217][218] O'Neal had a 2005 reality series on ESPN, Shaquille,[219] and hosted a series called Shaq's Big Challenge on ABC.[220]

O'Neal appeared on NBA Ballers and NBA Ballers: Phenom,[221] in the 2002 Discovery Channel special Motorcycle Mania 2 requesting an exceptionally large bike to fit his large size famed custom motorcycle builder Jesse James,[222] in the first Idol Gives Back in 2007,[223] on an episode of Fear Factor,[224] and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, where he was lifted off the ground on Wee Man's back.[225] O'Neal was a wrestling fan and made appearances at many WWE events.[226]

O'Neal was pranked on the MTV show Punk'd when a crew member accused him of stealing his parking space. After O'Neal and his wife went into a restaurant, Ashton Kutcher's crew members let the air out of O'Neal's tires. O'Neal and the crew member then got into an altercation and after Kutcher told O'Neal he had been Punk'd, O'Neal made an obscene gesture at the camera.[227][228]

O'Neal starred in a reality show called Shaq Vs. which premiered on August 18, 2009, on ABC.[229] The show featured O'Neal competing against other athletes at their own sports.[230]

On July 14, 2011, O'Neal announced that he would join Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst on its NBA basketball games, joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.[231]

He hosted the show Upload with Shaquille O'Neal which aired on TruTV for one season.

In September 2015 whilst promoting sportswear giant Reebok in South Korea, O'Neal joined the cast in the South Korean variety television show Off to School where he went to Seo Incheon High School. The show features various celebrities attending a selected high school as students for three days.[232] The producer of the show, Kim No-eun said, "We've worked hard on our guest list this season, so Chu