NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal wishes he did a lot of things differently after hanging up his sneakers.
NFL star Jason Kelce, who is considering retirement, was a guest on Shaq’s ‘The Big Podcast’. At the end of the interview, the former Lakers star offered some advice to Kelce, encouraging him to appreciate his loved ones and not take them for granted, as he did.
“My advice to you is, if you are going to retire, accept it,” Shaq said. “Enjoy your family, brother. I made a lot of dumb mistakes to where I lost my family and I don’t have anybody.”
“That’s not the case for you - so enjoy your beautiful wife, enjoy your beautiful kids.”
“And never dwell on what we had,” he continued. “What we had is what we got. You got the [championship] ring, people know who you are.”
“Enjoy because, again, I was an idiot and I’ve talked about it a long time. I lost my whole family.”
“I’m in a 100,000-square-foot house by myself.”
In the last few years, Shaq has become more and more vulnerable about his mental health and his regrets in life. After his former teammate and fellow NBA icon Kobe Bryant passed away, he has consistently said he wishes the two patched things up.
The two constantly butted heads during their playing career, and although there was mutual respect after they both retired, Shaq believes they could have had a stronger relationship.
“I should have called him,” Shaq told People magazine. “I should have called. We both should have called.”
"I thought we were both going to get older. Other things shouldn’t have been more important than getting in touch, but little things got in the way.”
These are wise and hard-earned words of wisdom from the basketballing legend.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health problems, please feel free to check out our resource page for a bunch of helplines.
