Shaquille O’Neal Reveals His Weight During His Third Championship With The Lakers

One of the most dominant NBA players of all time is Shaquille O’Neal. It goes without saying that Shaq’s size superiority over everyone else was the primary factor in his power. The NBA icon did, however, recently admit that his size was incorrect.

Shaquille O’Neal Reveals His Weight During His Third Championship With The Lakers

Shaquille O’Neal, the three-time NBA champion, came clean about what he did while still on the floor in a recent interview with Tom Brady. During his third championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, O’Neal carried a lot more weight in real life than was officially acknowledged.

Shaq was chosen by the Magic with the first overall choice in the 1992 NBA Draft for a purpose. The 7’1′′ sensation was a force to be reckoned with while he was at LSU, and he didn’t take long to continue his success in Orlando by using his incredible athleticism to consistently pull off plays that someone his stature seemed incapable of attempting in the first place.

During his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaq gained a noticeable amount of weight. Kobe Bryant, however, took issue with Shaq’s lack of conditioning, which he felt placed the team at a disadvantage on the basketball court.

“I weighed 345 pounds in our first championship, and after a fantastic summer, I returned at 385 pounds for the second one. I weighed 415 pounds when I won the last championship,” the former athlete said on the “Let’s Go!” podcast.

Since his college days, O’Neal has always been a formidable force below the basket; yet, as soon as he joined the professional ranks, opponents started to pile up fouls on him since they had no other means of stopping him.

To withstand the rough play of his opponents, he made the decision to put on additional muscle. He acknowledged, though, that he went a bit too far.

He didn’t disclose his weight while playing for the Celtics, but if you look at images from that era and images from his last championship run with the Lakers, you can safely conclude he weighed even more than 415 pounds.

Due to his domination throughout those three championship drives, O’Neal was chosen Finals MVP, solidifying his status as one of the greatest players to ever play basketball.

 

 

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