Shaquille O'Neal says embracing humility was a turning point in his life

Shaquille O'Neal recently called the artist formerly known as Kanye West a narcissist amid their public spat. The “Diesel” said he was allowed to describe Ye as such because he himself had felt the same way at a certain point in his NBA career.

On an episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” O’Neal narrated how killing his narcissistic tendencies taught him an important life lesson:

(Starts at 37:33):

“The day I humbled myself, the day I became more free. Mama left me in '04, '05, '06 around that time. I left LA and was like, ‘I did all this and y’all don’t want me?’ That’s when things really got bad. That’s when I really had to re-pull myself.

"After mama left and walking around the house and nobody in there, that’s when it really hurt. And then the queen Dr. Lucille O’Neal said, ‘Hey man, I don’t know you no more. You need to humble yourself.’

“And when mama talks, true man listens. And when I started doing that, the door started opening back up. The family even came back around. I got no calls, texts, I ain’t got nothing. It was just emptiness! 90,000 square foot house of rich marble emptiness.”

Shaquille O'Neal was unquestionably the top dog in basketball during the LA Lakers’ three-peat from 2000-02. He won three NBA Finals MVP awards and was arguably the most dominant force the game has ever seen.

Just two seasons after being on top of the NBA, O’Neal’s life on and off the court started to crumble. Shaq’s relationship with Shaunie Henderson, his former wife, was on the rocks. O'Neal later admitted that he caused the marriage to disintegrate due to his cheating. They eventually divorced in 2011.

With the divorce, the erstwhile couple’s children also moved out of Shaquille O'Neal’s sprawling mansion. He was hit hard, based on several later interviews, when his 90,000-square-foot house echoed with emptiness.

The LA Lakers, the team he led to a grand slam, decided to trade Shaq to the Miami Heat in the summer of 2004. From the alpha dog of the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal played second fiddle to an up-and-coming superstar in Dwyane Wade.

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By humbling himself, Shaquille O'Neal regained what he had lost

Shaquille O'Neal claims his more humble now because of painful life lessons.

In 2006, Shaquille O'Neal played a huge part in giving the Miami Heat their first franchise title. Although Dwyane Wade was the best player throughout that championship run, Miami could not have been champions without O’Neal.

The return to basketball glory did not immediately result in a change in his life. He still had to work hard to become a better person.

“The day I killed the narcissist Shaq, is the day, ‘Hey daddy, I miss you.’ Bro, when I got one of those texts, man, I actually cried then. I didn’t know what to say. The day I released all that me, me, me, me, Shaq, Shaq, Shaq, Shaq, is the day the blessings opened up.

"That’s the best feeling, ‘We understand and we still love you.’ After I got that love from them, I said ‘You know what, I’m not gonna be the a**hole Shaq no more.’ ‘Cause I was an a**hole and lost everything.”