Shaquille O’Neal has revealed that becoming a DJ and performing at live concerts saved him after retiring from the NBA.
O’Neal has enjoyed a hugely successful post-basketball career as an analyst and businessman.
However, it was his time behind the DJ booth that really gave him the same feeling as being on the court, with his alter ego ‘DJ Diesel’.
O’Neal retired from the NBA in 2011 after one year with the Celtics. He didn’t work as a DJ again until 2017, when he started playing an offensive LaVar Ball track.
“I started DJing because it gives me the same adrenaline rush that a championship game would give me,” O’Neal said. PEOPLE.
Shaquille O’Neal retired from the NBA in 2011 after one season with the Boston Celtics.
Now, O’Neal performs at concerts as a DJ under the moniker ‘DJ Diesel’ in front of large crowds.
“I felt lost because I had planned to retire two years after I retired, so I wasn’t really prepared,” O’Neal continued.
O’Neal was 39 when he retired from the NBA, having averaged 9.2 points per game, the lowest average of his dominant NBA career.
The four-time NBA champion is easily one of the best centers in NBA history and was at his best in spurts with the Celtics. There has reportedly been interest in O’Neal continuing his career.
However, it is clear that his body was not the irresistible force it once was.
“I’ve been playing since I was 14 and I always had that feeling of walking into the game. I always had that hour and a half or so. And when I stopped playing, I didn’t have that feeling anymore,” O’Neal said.
“I went to that concert and I felt the same way again. I was like, ‘You know what? I used to do this. Let me see if I can pick it up again,'” O’Neal continued. “Yeah, it’s fun, but it’s only an hour and a half long.”
“I know a lot of people in my situation don’t have anything to do, they just wake up and they’re lost. So the fact that I’m working is a blessing,” O’Neal added. “I’ll continue to do any job I can get because one day I’ll be in a position where I can’t do it anymore.”