What are Shaquille O'Neal's different nicknames? Taking a closer look at the various monikers Diesel's known by

NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal is considered one of the funniest and most outgoing sports personalities of all time. He played 19 seasons for six different franchises during an illustrious career. Along the way he earned countless nicknames, most relating to his enormous size. Here are a few of O’Neal’s most memorable nicknames.

“Big Aristotle”

One of Shaquille O’Neal’s first nicknames, “Big Aristotle” was given to O’Neal by himself back in 2000. O’Neal had just graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University that year. Hence, he decided to have some fun by comparing himself to the renowned Greek philosopher “Aristotle.”

“Shaq Daddy”

O’Neal is a big fan of hip-hop and was friends with the late rapper “The Notorious B.I.G,” who often collaborated with fellow rapper “Puff Daddy”. O’Neal decided to use a similar stage name, going with “Shaq Daddy.”

Shaq Fu

Shaquille O’Neal appeared as the main character of the video game “Shaq Fu” in 1994. The game featured O’Neal traveling through an alternate dimension to rescue a boy from an evil mummy. Shaq Fu later stuck as one of his many nicknames.

Big Baryshnikov

Another rather sarcastic nickname of O’Neal’s was “The Big Baryshnikov.” O’Neal was a real-life giant back in his playing days, standing at 7-foot-1, and weighing 325 pounds.

However, he's always been relatively graceful for his size, both on and off court. O’Neal has even taken up dancing quite frequently. This led O’Neal to jokingly compare himself to one of the greatest ballet dancers ever, "Mikhail Baryshnikov".

Nicknames relating to Shaquille O'Neal's dominance

Shaquille O''Neal Lakers

Superman

Shaquille O’Neal is a big fan of the superhero “Superman”, and even has the logo tattooed on his arm. He adopted the title as one of his many nicknames and has since grown quite protective of it. Most notably, when he refused to give NBA All-Star Dwight Howard permission to use the nickname.

The Diesel

One of O’Neal’s oldest nicknames, “The Diesel” references O’Neal’s engine-like power. O’Neal also has a tattoo related to this nickname on his shoulder. In 1993 he even released a rap album with a similar name, “Shaq Diesel”.

Big Fella

This one is pretty straight forward as “Big Fella” appropriately describes O’Neal’s larger-than-life size and persona pretty adequately.

Last Center Left (L.C.L.)

Another fairly self-explanatory nickname, “Last Center Left,” references O’Neal’s belief later in his career that he was the only true center left in the game. O’Neal considered himself to be in a class of his own compared to his competitors like Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutombo during that period.

Most Dominant Ever (M.D.E.)

Simliar to the last nickname, "Most Dominant Ever" clearly captured how O'Neal felt about his dominance. He gave it to himself after the Lakers’ three-peat in the early 2000’s as he felt no one could stop him.

Wilt Chamberneezy

“Wilt Chamberneezy” was a tribute to fellow Lakers legendary center Wilt Chamberlain. Unlike modern-day centers, O’Neal seemed to have a great appreciation for the big men who came before him, Chamberlain being one.