Shaquille O'Neal Talks Health, Reebok Basketball, and Move to ESPN

Shaquille O'Neal is balancing his business empire while raising awareness about sleep apnea.

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal is the President of Reebok Basketball. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

There are superstars and then there is Shaquille O'Neal. Regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, the Basketball Hall of Famer won four NBA Championships, three Finals MVP Awards, and was a 15-time All-Star.

Off the court, O'Neal is even more successful. He is a co-host of Inside the NBA, arguably the best sports show ever. Plus, the entrepreneur took over as the President of Reebok Basketball in 2023. O'Neal is rebuilding the legendary brand back into a basketball powerhouse.

Kicks On SI caught up with O'Neal to discuss his crusade to raise awareness about treating sleep apnea with Eli Lilly, Reebok's promising future, his favorite sneakers, and why Inside the NBA is still the best basketball show in the world.

Shaquille O'Neal with Richard Jefferson at the 2025 NBA Playoffs. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

When did you first discover that you suffered from sleep apnea?

I was diagnosed in 2011 with moderate OSA. OSA stands for Obstructive sleep apnea. It's a chronic condition where the throat muscle relaxes during sleep and the airways become partially and sometimes fully blocked, causing breathing to be interrupted.

A Harvard professor, who was an expert on sleep apnea, came to me and said, 'Are you tired?' I was like, 'No.' He said, 'You look tired.' Then he told me about sleep apnea, and I had no idea what it was. After being diagnosed, you still try to have a superhuman attitude.

Now that I'm older, I urge people to go out and get checked for OSA and consult with your doctor. Ever since I've got rid of my superhuman attitude, I've been working with my doctor, and I'm working on a plan that's right for me now.

So you had these struggles with sleep during your NBA days?

My snoring was intense. It was deep and loud. I'll be gasping for air at night, and I would always wake up tired, no matter what I did. Most guys will be like, 'I'm only snoring a little bit. I'm not gonna do this.' But there are a lot of bad things that can happen if it's not treated. Daytime sleepiness, fatigue, irritability, concentration, and memory problems. I had all that.

Shaquille O'Neal during an NBA broadcast. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

How did your partnership with Eli Lilly come about?

You've been knowing me for a while. I try to get with companies that I believe in, and I definitely believe in Eli Lilly.  It's estimated that 24 million people suffer from OSA. I want to be the leader of the crusade that kind of taps it into that number. Now I'm a spokesperson for Eli Lilly.

You and Allen Iverson as Vice President are the coolest executives in the sneaker industry. How do you feel about the future of the brand? Angel Reese and Matas Buzelis are Reebok athletes.

I remember when I met Matas. He's a mama's boy like me. He loves his family. He came in with his family, and it just made me smile, because when I first signed with Reebok, I brought the whole family. He's a local Chicago kid and loves playing the game.

He wants to be great, and he's super humble. He was honored to be with us, and I'm honored to have him. Last year was the learning process for him, but now he's putting up numbers. If he continues to play that way, he's definitely gonna be a problem, indeed.

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese ties her Reebok shoes. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Being on this side now, what are some lessons that you’ve learned about the sneaker industry?

I definitely learned a lot about the sneaker world, the business world, about the budget world. Getting players like Angel Reese, who is a mini A.I. She's gonna do what she wants to do, how she wants to do it, and she don't give a d**n what nobody thinks. I love that attitude about her.

Matas reminds me of myself in high school. There were four or five guys ranked ahead of me in high school, so I was kind of the underdog. When I went to Nike, they were like, 'Oh, we already got to shoot for Alonzo Mourning, and we already signed Laettner.' Then, I went to Reebok and they wanted me.

When it comes to your signature line at Reebok, what were your favorite sneakers?

I love the Shaqnosis. I used to watch TV back in the day, and at the end of, you know, before they had all this cave and all this stuff, they used to have that, that thing that they either had the ant race or they had this.

One day, I woke up in the middle of the night, and I was looking at it, and I kind of got hypnotized. Not really, but in my mind. Then I wondered how that would look on the shoe.

So when I told Reebok what I wanted to do, they asked, 'What the hell are we gonna call it? I was like, 'Shaqnoisis.' They were on board. They were definitely different and a hit. The James Harden's kind of looks like the Shaqnosis. I'm calling adidas out right now [laughs].

Orlando Magic center Shaquille O'Neal wears the Reebpok Shaqnosis. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Lastly, as a fan of Inside the NBA, I was concerned about the show moving to ESPN. I was glad that nothing had changed but the schedule. Y'all are better than ever. How has the transition been?

You make a great point. The only thing that changed is the schedule. The same production crew is there, the camera operators are there, and the makeup crew is there. Everything is the same. I think the ESPN executives did a great job of coming down at the beginning and saying, 'Do you.' Even when Chuck talks about the woman of San Antonio [laughs].

The best thing about it is that we're still together. I thought for a brief moment that we were going to go our separate ways. Being separated from Chuck and Kenny wouldn't have been as bad, but being separated from Ernie would have been weird for me.