Shaquille O’Neal spoke to American media about his weight problems, which eventually led him to a “military regime.”
After a few years in the world’s top basketball league, he had been reporting false weight to avoid club “sanctions.” However, he couldn’t escape the consequences when he joined the Miami Heat. It’s well-known how Pat Riley and the “Heat” organization emphasize physical fitness, which led the popular Shaq to end up on a military-style regimen.
“When I entered the league, I weighed 133 kilograms. They started ‘hacking’ me early. That’s why I focused on strength training in the gym. I weighed 156 kilograms when Phil Jackson took over the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999.
During the ‘fantastic summer’ of 2000, I gained 20 kilograms, and the following season, I weighed as much as 188 kilograms. Then Pat Riley forced me to do military exercises, so I slimmed down to 147 kilograms,” recounted Shaquille O’Neal.