NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has long been known for his dominance on the court, but in a recent appearance on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast, the Hall of Famer revealed a darker chapter of his career: a prolonged and largely hidden struggle with painkiller dependency that spanned nearly two decades.
O’Neal, who played 19 seasons in the NBA and won four championships, admitted that painkillers were a daily part of his routine as he battled through injuries and the physical toll of being a 7-foot-1, 325-pound center.
“It was a club sandwich, fries, and two pills for 19 years,” he said,
describing how he self-medicated with both opioids like oxycodone and powerful anti-inflammatories such as Indocin.
He confessed to routinely exceeding prescribed doses, jokingly referring to his approach as “homeboy math.”
“If it said take one, I’m taking three,” O’Neal said.
Despite the high intake, he claimed he never felt high, only functional enough to play through the pain.
The long-term consequences of this regimen have begun to surface. O’Neal revealed that he now suffers from limited kidney function and has been warned by doctors to avoid further damage.
“My kidneys are kind of just chilling out right now,” he said. “I don’t want to flare ‘em back up”.
O’Neal first discussed his painkiller use in his 2022 HBO documentary Shaq, but the recent podcast appearance offered a more candid and emotional reflection. He admitted to hiding his pill use from his family, though team trainers were aware. At one point, his doctor confronted him about addiction, leading to what he described as “a heated discussion.”
“I had to have them. So, is that addiction?” he asked rhetorically.
Even during his MVP season in 2000, O’Neal expressed concern about the risks of anti-inflammatories, citing the kidney disease that affected fellow NBA star Alonzo Mourning. Despite those fears, he continued using the medications to stay on the court.
