It was a night like no other on The Tonight Show. The studio was alive with energy, the audience a sea of uniformed men and women—servicemembers from across the branches, their faces beaming with pride and anticipation. Jimmy Fallon, ever the host with boundless enthusiasm, welcomed Shaquille O’Neal back onto the stage for what promised to be a night of laughter, reflection, and revelations.
Shaq, towering and charismatic, began with gratitude. “Before we get started,” he said, his voice booming yet warm, “I want you guys to give yourselves a round of applause. I love the military. I appreciate you.” The room erupted in cheers, a shared sense of respect echoing between the NBA legend and those who serve.
For Shaquille O’Neal, the military wasn’t just an institution—it was family. His father, a drill sergeant in the Army, had shaped him in ways that went far beyond the basketball court. “I attribute my work ethic to my dad,” Shaq said, settling into his chair. “He had these sayings that didn’t make sense at the time, but they sure do now.”
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He recounted a story from his early days in the NBA, after a particularly rough game against the Knicks. “My dad made me fly home,” Shaq recalled. “He told me to meet him at 0700. I hated that—had to do the math in my head. 12 minus seven…” The audience laughed as Shaq mimed the mental gymnastics. “So I get to his house, and we drive. He’s not much for words—you don’t speak unless spoken to. I’m sitting there, wondering what I did wrong. He says, ‘Shut the hell up.’ So I do.”
The car ride was tense, but it wasn’t until they drove under a bridge that his father finally spoke. “He asked me, ‘You couldn’t handle the pressure?’ I admitted, yeah, Madison Square Garden, Patrick Ewing, it got to me. And then he pointed to a homeless family under the bridge. ‘That’s pressure,’ he said. ‘Not knowing where your next meal is coming from. I’m tired of you spoiled, rich athletes blaming your bad games on pressure.’”
Shaq’s father made him get out of the car and talk to the family. “He left me there,” Shaq said, shaking his head with a smile. “At 0715, I’m standing with these people, realizing what real pressure is. I got them an apartment, got the man a job. That changed my perspective forever. Pressure isn’t missing a shot in the Garden. It’s not knowing how you’ll feed your kids.”
The audience was silent, moved by the lesson. For Shaq, these moments defined him as much as any championship ring. His father’s tough love, his military upbringing, and his own journey through adversity had shaped a man who saw beyond the game.
But Shaq was never one to stay serious for long. The conversation shifted, and soon he was ribbing Jimmy about his number of appearances on the show. “I hear I’m not the number-one guy,” Shaq joked, calling out Michael Strahan and Andy Cohen. “Michael’s been on 24 times, Andy 20, and I’ve only been on 18!” The playful rivalry had the audience in stitches.
Jimmy reminded Shaq of a past bet—a time Shaq had lost and had to parade down a city block in a pink Speedo with “Shaq” emblazoned on the back. “You did it, man. You’re the best,” Jimmy laughed. “Not just my favorite athlete, but one of my favorite guests.”
Then came the viral moment everyone had been waiting for—Shaq’s abrupt exit during a live broadcast of Inside the NBA. The clip played on the big screen: Shaq, mid-discussion, suddenly standing up and hustling off set, leaving his co-hosts bewildered.
“What happened?” Jimmy asked, grinning.
Shaq, never afraid to poke fun at himself, explained, “I drank a lot of water that day. I said it was a number-one run, but honestly, it was number two. I had to go so bad!” The crowd roared with laughter. “The next night, the TNT crew put a porta-potty on set for me. I squeezed my butt cheeks all the way there.”
It was classic Shaq—unfiltered, honest, and hilarious. But beneath the humor was a man always moving forward, always seeking the next challenge.
That challenge, now, was Reebok.
Jimmy brought out a replica of Shaq’s iconic size 22 sneaker, holding it up for the audience to marvel. “You’re the president of Reebok Basketball now,” Jimmy said. “You’re trying to bring it back. How old were you when you first signed with Reebok?”
“Nineteen, maybe twenty,” Shaq replied. “Back then, we were never number one, but never number three. Michael had Nike, but Reebok was right there with me and Allen Iverson. Then, it kind of faded. Now, I want to bring it back.”
He looked out at the audience, his voice turning earnest. “I want everyone here to write their name down. I’m sending you all a pair of sneakers.” The crowd erupted, a wave of gratitude and excitement sweeping through the servicemembers.
For Shaq, this wasn’t just about shoes. It was about legacy, about giving back, about meeting challenges head-on—the way his father taught him. On his new Netflix docuseries, Power Moves, he chronicled his journey to revive Reebok, to innovate, to listen. “Growing up with a drill sergeant, the number-one thing you learn is to listen,” he said. “In the corporate world, I had to listen to the youngsters. They like bright colors now, low-tops. I had to adapt.”
Working with his son Shareef, signing rising stars like Angel Reese, Shaq was building something new—honoring the past while embracing the future. “Engine A,” he said, holding up the latest model, “is all about that. If you’re not getting these for free in the audience, check them out at home.”
A clip from Power Moves played, showing Shaq wrestling with the challenge of modernizing Reebok, of learning to let go of old ways and trust new ideas. “Being a military guy, we’re taught one way, one process,” he said in the clip. “But the more I get out of that, the more successful we’ll be.”
As the segment wrapped, the audience cheered, chanting his name. Shaq grinned, a giant among men, his presence filling the room with warmth and laughter.
For Shaquille O’Neal, life was always about more than basketball. It was about family, about facing adversity, about never backing down from a challenge. Whether he was making the world laugh, giving back to those in need, or leading a brand’s comeback, Shaq did it with heart, humility, and a sense of humor that could light up any room.
And as he left the stage that night, the cheers still ringing in his ears, Shaq knew that, in his father’s eyes, he was living up to the promise made all those years ago: to become one of the most dominant—and generous—big men the world had ever seen.
Shaquille O’Neal Talks Docuseries ‘Power Moves,’ Chronicling Reebok Basketball’s Comeback Story on ‘Today’
Shaquille O’Neal Talks Docuseries ‘Power Moves,’ Chronicling Reebok Basketball’s Comeback Story on ‘Today’
Shaquille O’Neal is gearing up for the release of his upcoming Netflix docuseries “Power Moves With Shaquille O’Neal.” In the series, O’Neal and Allen Iverson, who are both longtime collaborators of the brand, team up to attempt to revive Reebok Basketball’s legacy and find a rising star to rep the brand.
Ahead of the release, O’Neal, who is the president of Reebok Basketball, is making the TV rounds to talk about the show, which gives a candid, behind-the-scenes look as they attempt to make the company relevant again the basketball world. He appeared on the “Today” on Friday and shared why he decided to get onboard with the reinvention.
“I’ve always said Reebok was never number one but never number three. I remember when I signed with Reebok it was an emerging company then we signed Allen Iverson and Shawn Kemp and we were always in the fold. Then Adidas purchased Reebok and then it kind of went away,” the former NBA star shared.
“When it came back up for sale my partner, Jamie Salter, he purchased it. For me, it’s just a challenge to bring [Reebok] back with some type of prominence. Back then we didn’t have as much competition as we have now, so there’s a lot of competition and it’s just fun, I had to learn a lot.”
Part of that learning process has been adjusting to trends in the sneaker world as well as the basketball world. Thankfully, Shaq has kept his children, especially his eldest son Shareef O’Neal, close to guide him and keep him in the know about what’s hot and trending for the younger generations, and also what’s no longer popular.
“My mother says my greatest attribute is that I listen. First day I went in, I was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to do all types of new high-tops!'” he shared. “My son had to let me know that Gen Z doesn’t do high-tops anymore and I didn’t know that. I’m learning a lot, I’m having a good time. Again, we just want to bring them back to some type of prominence.”
During an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” the basketball star showed off a pair of the brand’s new Engine A basketball shoes and opened up again about how his son has helped him in this process.
“These youngsters wear bright colors now, their colors don’t alway shave to match their uniforms, they don’t wear high-tops. Being that I had that attribute (to listen), I think it helped me emerge with the team and we were able to come out with the shoe and it’s doing very well. We signed Angel Reese, we signed a couple of other players and I got to work with my oldest son Shareef. He’s like the portal to these youngsters, because you know these youngsters are crazy.”
Both O’Neal and Iverson were signed to Reebok as players when they were in the NBA, and were named president and vice president, respectively, of Reebok Basketball in October 2023. Iverson signed a lifetime deal with Reebok in 2001 following his initial five-year contract with the brand. Reebok signed O’Neal ahead of his rookie season in 1992. In 1998, O’Neal ended his initial deal with Reebok and created his own line of more affordable sneakers. More than 20 years later, he’d rejoin the company to lead its entire basketball division.
Reebok partnered with Angel Reese before her last season with the LSU Tigers in the fall of 2023. She became the brand’s first major NIL signing and the first signing under O’Neal.
