Shaquille O’Neal reveals incredible pregame ritual of staying up until 4am the night prior, eating fries and pineapple soda before getting ready to ‘kill somebody’ after three-hour nap

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has revealed his former pregame ritual of going to bed late and downing pineapple soda, even though he was always ready to “kill someone” on the court after an afternoon rest.

A four-time champion (three with the Lakers) and one-time MVP, O’Neal carved out a Hall of Fame career as one of the dominant big men of his era.

But the center wasn’t exactly known for his discipline off the field, sharing details of his old lifestyle on ‘The Big Pod with Shaq‘ alongside fellow basketball star Allen Iverson.

‘I never go to bed early. Since (I was) 18 years old, I’ve never gone to bed before 12 o’clock,” O’Neal said.

“Shaq, we’re playing at 7,” Iverson replied.

He revealed on ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq’ that he would eat chips and soda before games

“That’s what I mean, you can take a nap. That was my thing, staying out all night, right? Just at four o’clock. Get up at 10am. Go shoot, mess around, and come back. Two turkey clubs, fries and a pineapple soda and then I sleep for the four hours.

‘That’s what I need for the match. If I get that three hours before the game, no matter what I did the night before, I’m going to kill someone. They always try to make a big deal out of him going out, but…’

“He’s just a basketball guy,” Iverson chimed in. “Basketball was damn fun, I don’t care what time the game is… I’m going to play harder than anyone else.”

O’Neal and his former Lakers co-star Kobe Bryant often feuded over their different approaches to the game, with the late Bryant known for his “Mamba Mentality” and intense work ethic.

Bryant said in 2019 after his retirement that he would have “f******g 12 rings” if O’Neal worked harder.

Shaq and Kobe Bryant won three championships with the Lakers, but also often feuded

“He would be the greatest of all time,” Bryant said of O’Neal during the meeting PHP Convention in Las Vegas.

‘He’d be the first to tell you that. This man was a force like I have never seen. It was crazy. In general, guys that size are a bit timid and don’t want to be big. This guy didn’t care. He was mean, he was mean. He was competitive. He was vengeful. I wish he was in the gym.

“We were always working on things,” Bryant continued. “If you were in shape, by the time I run down on the fast break and run back and then run down, you’re still coming down the first time. A lot of our disagreements stemmed from that.”

O’Neal replied to his former teammate on Instagram: ‘You would have had 12 if you passed the ball, especially in the final against the pistons #facts. “You don’t get statues by not working hard.”

Bryant made it clear on social media afterwards that there was no ‘beef’ between the pair.

Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, died in a tragic helicopter crash in 2020, while O’Neal has been a regular on TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ since his retirement in 2011.