Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Shaquille O’Neal has revealed how one extraordinary year took him from an Olympic gold medal and a starring role in Kazaam.
The 54-year-old basketball legend reflected on 1996 while speaking to People about his new partnership with General Mills, saying the 12 months of success forced him to maintain a level of focus that helped shape the rest of his career.
During that single year, Shaquille joined the Los Angeles Lakers after four seasons with the Orlando Magic, represented the United States at the Atlanta Olympics, was selected for the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team, released his third studio album, You Can’t Stop the Reign, and starred as a genie in the fantasy comedy Kazaam.
Shaquille said: “That was probably one of my years where I had to be focused every day.”
He added: “I’m a guy that likes to go up and down with my focus on purpose, of course, because I always like to get away from it and then get back. But that year, there was so much coming, so much expectation, so many opportunities.”
Shaquille had established himself as one of basketball’s biggest stars with the Orlando Magic after entering the NBA in 1992, but his move to the Lakers in 1996 began the defining period of his playing career.
He said: “I just had to be so focused. But it taught me a lot. It taught me that if you put your mind to something, you can definitely get it done.”
Shaquille added: “So the fact that I was able to do that and delegate certain things to certain people and still be a part of that growth, it was a wonderful thing.”
The 7ft 1in tall centre subsequently formed one of the NBA’s most celebrated partnerships with Kobe Bryant, who was 41 when he died in 2020.
Together they helped the Lakers win three consecutive NBA championships between 2000 and 2002, with Shaquille collecting the NBA Finals MVP award in all three series.
He later won a fourth championship with the Miami Heat in 2006 before ending a 19-season NBA career that also included spells with the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.
Shaquille said the intensity of 1996 also changed him away from basketball.
He said: “It helped me grow as a person, helped me grow as a man.”
He added: “It helped me say, ‘You know what? Maybe I should do this way and this way and that way.’ Because I like exploring things, and if they don’t work, I know that that wasn’t the right way. I like to delete that and then just try something else.”
Shaquille added: “I have an athlete’s mind. I will keep trying until I win.”
His career after basketball has included business investments, music and television, while he has become familiar to another generation of basketball fans through his work as an analyst on Inside the NBA alongside Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson.
The long-running show moved to ESPN and ABC beginning with the 2025-26 season under an agreement between Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA.
Shaquille is now working with General Mills on a competition to find some of the most devoted cereal fans in the United States, with entrants invited to demonstrate their enthusiasm for brands including Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Reese’s Puffs and Honey Nut Cheerios.
The former Lakers star said: “I’ve always been one of Lucky Charms’ biggest fans. Yes, I do a lot of stuff, and I’m very successful in my life, but you can’t beat a big old cold bowl of cereal. I love it and I do enjoy it often.”
He added: “I’ve been eating General Mills forever, so I love to celebrate fans who care about those crunchy, delicious bites as much as I do. I look forward to coming to a small town and just delivering the prize.”
