Shaquille O’Neal has been one of the biggest names in basketball since the day he started playing college basketball. He turned 21 years old during his rookie season with the Orlando Magic and revealed that someone had sent him a not-so-appropriate birthday gift to his hotel room door – a naked lady.
“On my birthday, when I was playing for the Orlando Magic, I get a knock on the door.. I opened the door and this lady had a trench coat. She’s like, ‘I’m your birthday present.’ She dropped the coat and was butt a** naked… I slammed the door.”
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O’Neal seems amused by the story looking back on it but his initial reaction suggests he didn’t encourage it. O’Neal had come from a strict upbringing under his stepfather Phillip Harrison. He was influenced heavily by his father and he likely wouldn’t approve of O’Neal indulging in such gifts as a rookie with Hall of Fame potential.
Shaquille O’Neal Was Raised To Resist Temptation
Everyone knows of how O’Neal enjoyed the fruits of superstardom in his prime. He was regularly seen partying in clubs and enjoying the company of women, but he has repeatedly stated that he would never get drunk. His dislike for alcohol stems from his father making a 13-year-old O’Neal drink a 12-pack of beer designed to make him dislike liquor.
“Actually, my father caught me sipping a beer with my cousins when I was, like, 13. So he made me drink a 12-pack right then. Not only did I get drunk, I hated beer, and I never had the urge to drink again.”
Despite the path Harrison tried setting Shaq on, he did take his liberties and veer off-course. He dominated the NBA and was the undisputed best player in the league for a period of time. However, many still believe he udnerachieved on his potential as the greatest of all time.
At the age of 21, it wouldn’t have been easy for O’Neal to decline a naked woman at his door, but he made the right call. In his later years, O’Neal would find himself become a womanizer and blow up two very valuable female relationships in his life, as he has described himself.
“I had two perfect women and I messed it up. My first one was my baby’s mother, Arnetta, and then I met Shaunie. Shaunie was also a perfect woman, and I messed it up. Yeah, you know, we were young and always just doing dumb stuff. But, the good thing about our relationship is that they forgave me, and we have a good relationship now. But when you ask me about the perfect woman — I had two perfect women and I messed it up, just by, you know, being dumb.”
O’Neal can find some happiness in the successful life be created for himself through his talent, along with his many wonderful children. He’s ended up as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Related: Shaquille O’Neal Says LeBron James Is The Best Young Leader He’s Ever Played With
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