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LA Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal was the celebrity monarch for the Krewe of Bacchus parade for Mardi Gras 2025 on Sunday. Shaq embraced his Louisiana roots with friends and family from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette in attendance. O'Neal posted a video on Instagram donning the king’s robes ahead of the parade.
His excitement for the parade could be seen in his playful demeanor as he wrote:
“Hail Bacchus, King of Mardi Gras 2025.”
When WWL reporters asked what it means to serve as the celebrity monarch, Shaq said:
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“It’s an honor. I’m learning much about the tradition. I’m just glad that they picked me, so looking forward to just going and having fun with the people of Louisiana.”
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Shaq also shed light on how proud his family was to see him be the celebrity monarch for Bacchus:
“My mother was very happy, you know we have a lot of friends and a lot of family here in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette are so they’re happy.”
When asked where his friends and family would be watching from, Shaq said:
“They’re gonna be there.”
Thousands of people gathered on the parade’s route through Uptown to get a look at Shaquille O'Neal as King of Bacchus. O'Neal could be seen having fun with fans and was captured flinging gifts into the crowd from his throne. The show featured more than 250 different throws, including limited edition Shaq basketballs. The throws were estimated to have a value of around $3 million.
King of Bacchus’ throne had to be specially made to accommodate Shaquille O'Neal
Before Shaquille O'Neal, more than 50 people had served as the monarch of Bacchus for the Krewe of Bacchus parade. All of them used the same throne to rule over Bacchus and throw out gifts into the crowd, all except O'Neal.
Shaq is 7-foot-1 and weighs around 325 pounds. It would be impossible for him to slip into a throne designed for the average-sized human.
The Krewe revealed that the height of the throne was lowered by approximately four feet to accommodate the new throne made for O'Neal. The 57-year-old was an anomaly even during his time in the NBA and is recorded to have one of the largest shoe sizes in NBA history at 22. Clearly, a normal-sized throne wouldn’t have survived the Lakers legend.
