Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest and most dominant NBA players to ever play the sport of basketball.
His accomplishments and impact on the game is a matter of public record at this point.
Recently, O’Neal sat down for a documentary with HBO where he broke down things about his career that people may not know about.
One of those things was how he dealt with his injuries.
Shaq on his injuries with the Lakers:
“…I had a solution. Painkillers. I just like to feel loose before the game. So one time I was having pains and I took it and I was like ‘oh,’ and and I had a good game. So that was my ritual… Boy I’d be looser than a mug.”
(via @HBO) pic.twitter.com/8aBd3auMyo
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 8, 2022
“…I had a solution,” he said.
“Painkillers. I just like to feel loose before the game. So one time I was having pains and I took it and I was like ‘oh,’ and and I had a good game. So that was my ritual… Boy I’d be looser than a mug.”
O’Neal generally keeps it pretty real. Whether he is breaking down his life-threatening condition, naming his worst teammate of all time or giving brutally honest advice to his son – he tends to be one of the most honest athletes around. So if he is saying he took painkillers before his Lakers games, he probably did.
Plus, it makes a lot of sense. He took the sort of punishment (due to his size) that few others could even begin to understand. Players were permitted to foul him in a way that nobody else had ever been fouled.
That, coupled with just his frame doing what it did for two decades, would understandably lead to a lot of ailments.
The photos speak for themselves. https://t.co/g6TUYqx8Tt
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 9, 2022
The painkillers revelation was certainly a stunning one.
What other interesting tidbits will come out in O’Neal’s documentary?
Time will tell.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
