Shaquille O’Neal is a four-time NBA champion, sports analyst, DJ and contributor to movies, TV and video games. He’s an unwitting comedian who has been in law enforcement and loves to make people’s day with sweet financial gestures. Seriously, is there anything Shaq can’t do? That’s what podcaster Bobbi Althoff wanted to find out when she sat down with The Big Aristotle, and it turns out, there are a few burdens to bear when it comes to being over 7 feet tall. Althoff shared a viral TikTok clip from their conversation on The Really Good Podcast, and it’s just as hilarious and ridiculous as you’d think it would be.
The conversation started off with a pretty simple question as Bobbi Althoff asked for some things Shaquille O’Neal wishes he could do but is too tall for. Between his deadpan humor and her intentionally awkward interview style, I understand why this video has over 12 million views. Their exchange is simply something that must be witnessed:
@bobbialthoff
♬ original sound – Bobbi
Bobbi Althoff has made a name for herself on The Really Good Podcast by asking unexpected questions and allowing awkward pauses to linger. However, she seemed really unsure of which parts of Shaq’s stories were genuine and which he was making up.
The NBA legend said he was too tall to go skydiving, and that’s pretty easy to see, because this is a man who would require a pretty large parachute. However, when he said he was too tall to scuba dive, the TikToker was taken aback. I’m glad she pushed him on how one can be too tall to scuba dive, and his answer was certainly interesting. Shaq explained:
I’m too heavy. Because when you scuba dive, they give you weights and then when I went down, I hit the button, but I never came back up. Almost drowned. But then my instincts kicked in. I just said the famous word, ‘Shaqmu.’ Like Shamu. Then I just did like that [sways head] and then I was at the top.
Bobbi Althoff seemed confused by the story of the scuba adventure, and I’m as unsure as she was about whether it was the magic word “Shaqmu” that got the NBA legend to the surface or just, you know, swimming. This prompted her to ask:
Do you ever tell me stories that are real?
The interview continued with The Really Good Podcast host asking if Shaquille O’Neal had ever ridden a horse, to which he said he had bought a 22-hand Percheron that — in Shaq’s words — “tried to Bronco Billy me” when he attempted to ride it:
- Shaq: He tried to kill me.
- Bobbi: I can see why.
These two certainly met their dry-humored match with each other. This exchange was just as amusing, if not more, than the other real-life stories we’ve heard about Shaquille O’Neal regarding his size, including the time 6-foot-2 Will Smith felt short next to the 7-foot-1 baller or when DJ Diesel himself explained how he tried to avoid paparazzi by hiding behind trees.
As funny as Shaq and Bobbi Althoff are separately, I have to say, I’m a fan of this comedic pairing. Is it bad that now I want to see them co-star on a travel show where they go out in search of activities Shaq is too tall for, or take a road trip to Orlando in search of Shaq’s snack-eating Percheron? One can dream.