Shaquille O’Neal says he’s lost 55 pounds to bring his weight down to 351 pounds — and plans to lose even more.
“I’ll probably get between 315 and 330,” the former Los Angeles Laker, 51, told me. Entertainment tonight on Thursday. “I got chubby and couldn’t even climb the stairs. I didn’t like the way I looked in the mirror.’
O’Neal said of his weight loss goals at the time, “I thought, ‘I’m going to lose twenty,’ and then I tried to lose twenty.”
The Newark, New Jersey-born star, who stands at 7 feet 8 inches, gave the outlet a history of his weight loss and gains over the years.
The four-time NBA champion said he weighed 345 pounds in 2000, and in 2001 he weighed 375 pounds. In 2002, he weighed in at 395 pounds; all three years he won NBA titles with the Lakers and the late Kobe Bryant.
The latest: Shaquille O’Neal, 51, says he’s lost 55 pounds to bring his weight down to 351 pounds — and plans to lose even more. Pictured on Instagram on Wednesday
He said that after the 2004 trade that sent him to the Miami Heat, he cut his weight to 315 pounds because he was in his best physical shape when he led the team alongside Dwyane Wade to their first-ever NBA championship in 2006.
The NBA Hall of Famer also played for the Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics over the course of his 20-year career in the league, prior to his retirement in 2011.
O’Neal said he set the bar high with “crazy goals” on his diets, joking that he wants “a pack of 12” but now has “a pack of five.”
O’Neal in December told the outlet that he had already lost 40 pounds through an effort that involved the help of others, with his blood work and diet scrutinized.
“I got a few people involved. It’s all about good food,” said O’Neal. “I had some blood work done, a friend of mine called me and said, ‘You’re fat,’ and she gave me this man’s name, and he did some blood work.”
O’Neal said he learned more about nutrition throughout the process.
“I was the athlete, I wasn’t a salad eater,” he said. ‘I’m not going to pay attention to that. I don’t care at all.’
He continued, “I didn’t know the difference between carbs and protein, at 50 years old I never knew. So he said you can’t do this, you can’t do that, more veggies, my iron is running low. And once I started changing those certain things, it fell away.”
The NBA icon, who has dabbled in music throughout the years, was photographed at a festival in San Francisco earlier this month
O’Neal weighed 345 pounds in 2000; he was seen with the late Kobe Bryant after they captured the NBA title that year
The four-time NBA champion said he weighed up to 395 pounds in 2002. Pictured in LA in June 2002
O’Neal said that between the dietary changes, supplements and shakes, “the weight just fell off.”
He said he still has the potential to lose more, saying, “I’m not in 100 percent ninja mode yet.” I’m still at 75 percent.’
O’Neal spoke to the outlet ahead of The Event, a third annual fundraising event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 7.
The proceeds of the event are a collaboration between the Shaquille O’Neal Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club, aims to go to children in need.
“We take care of children in need, especially in Las Vegas and Atlanta… and you know the Diesel, so I’m bringing out some great talent,” he said.
This year’s event will feature the likes of Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Dan + Shay and Ray Romano.