How Tall Is Shaq, and What Is His Shoe Size?
Shaquille O’Neal is a legendary retired pro basketball player who dominated the NBA for 19 seasons, earning four NBA titles and appearing in 15 All-Star Games. A part of O’Neal’s on-court success came down to his imposing size.
Many basketball players are taller than the average person, but O’Neal’s height was even more remarkable than his teammates and opponents. So, exactly how tall is Shaq is, and what is the sports legend’s shoe size?
How tall is Shaquille O’Neal?
For much of his childhood, Shaquille O’Neal was often taller than average. As a freshman in high school, he already stood 6-foot-6. Because of his height and penchant for troublemaking, his parents encouraged him to participate in sports like basketball so he could channel his attributes into something positive, JRank reports.
Soon, O’Neal would start a career that saw him rise to a basketball legend. So, how tall is Shaq today? He towers at 7 feet 1 inch. (And for those asking, “How tall is Shaq in cm?”: The answer is 215.9 centimeters.)
He’s on the tall side even for a basketball star, but he isn’t the tallest player the NBA has ever seen. Notably, former pro player Yao Ming is taller than O’Neal by about five inches at 7-foot-6. However, the title of tallest NBA player goes to two men measuring 7 feet 7 inches: Gheorghe Muresan from Romania and the late Manute Bol from South Sudan.
O’Neal is not only tall but also big. Shaq’s weight hovers around 350 pounds, though Yahoo! Sports reported he was up to 415 pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In fact, he recently revealed on “The Big Zookeeper” episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq that his imposing size intimidates gorillas. “Every zoo in the world, they go crazy,” he said. “They try to break out the damn thing and try to fight me.”
Ron Magill, Zoo Miami’s communications director, confirmed Shaq’s claims. The male gorilla “gets intimidated, and he looks at Shaq and thinks that Shaq’s gonna take away his girls, and he gets tightlipped and tries to stand up and make himself look as big as possible,” Magill recalled. “But at the end of the day, he backs off. He knows who’s boss.”
According to the A-Z Animals, adult male Eastern lowland gorillas, the world’s largest primates, weigh 450 to 500 pounds. But they don’t usually stand taller than 6 feet. That’s more than a foot shorter than Shaq’s height of over 7 feet.
What is Shaquille O’Neal’s shoe size?
Shaquille O’Neal’s height and weight aren’t his only impressive stats. His feet are larger-than-average too. Most men wear sizes 9 to 12. However, Shaq’s shoes are a whopping size 22.
Interestingly, Yao Ming’s size 18 shoes are smaller than Shaq’s despite Ming’s taller stature. Other NBA players (former and current) with big feet are Kevin Durant (size 18), Robin Lopez (20), and Bob Lanier (22).
O’Neal also understands what it’s like to grow up bigger than other kids. In 2019, he bought 10 pairs of size 18 shoes for a 13-year-old basketball player whose mother couldn’t afford them, the CBS affiliate in Atlanta reported.
Shaq surprised the family by purchasing the shoes from a store where he used to buy his own shoes growing up. “I’m gonna take care of the kid today because somebody did it for me,” O’Neal said. “I’m doing it for the kid … That should last him for a long time.”
Are Shaq’s family members also tall and big like him?
Because Shaq is a big guy, it’s not surprising his family members aren’t small either.
His parents are not over 7 feet like him, but they’re taller than average, How They Play reports. His mother and father both stand 6 feet 2 inches tall.
Meanwhile, Shaq’s children are tall as well. He has two sons who play basketball — Shareef and Shaqir. Shareef, who’s in his early 20s, is 6 feet 11 inches. And Shaquir, in his late teens, stands 6 feet 5 inches. O’Neal’s other son, Myles, is an aspiring model and is said to be 6-foot-2. O’Neal also has three daughters whose exact heights are unknown. However, based on photos with the whole family, Shaq’s daughters appear taller than average.
Many of Shaquille O’Neal’s wives and girlfriends are also relatively tall. His ex-wife, Shaunie Nelson, is reportedly 5-foot-11. And Shaq’s current girlfriend, actor Annie Ilonzeh, is 5-foot-7.
Interestingly, though, O’Neal once dated TV personality Nicole “Hoopz” Alexander, who stands only 5 feet 2 inches tall, ABC News reported. That means he towered almost two feet over her.
