{"id":912015,"date":"2026-06-11T16:12:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T21:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/11\/im-about-to-be-hired-shaquille-oneal-reveals-major-career-move-after-lsu-graduation-on-inside-the-nba\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T16:12:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T21:12:51","slug":"im-about-to-be-hired-shaquille-oneal-reveals-major-career-move-after-lsu-graduation-on-inside-the-nba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/11\/im-about-to-be-hired-shaquille-oneal-reveals-major-career-move-after-lsu-graduation-on-inside-the-nba\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019m About to Be Hired\u201d: Shaquille O\u2019Neal Reveals Major Career Move After LSU Graduation on \u2018Inside the NBA\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If trolling Charles Barkley were a subject, Shaquille O\u2019Neal<\/a> would have already earned his PhD. We saw another example when Big Diesel returned to Baton Rouge, 26 years later, to receive his actual master\u2019s degree. Shaq managed to convince the faculty member to introduce him as \u201cShaquille \u2018I Hate Charles Barkley\u2019 O\u2019Neal.\u201d He then waved to the fans and hammed it up with a dance before shaking the professor\u2019s hand and accepting his diploma. But alongside stacking degree after degree, the NBA legend just appeared to confirm that he will have more frequent visits to his alma mater, LSU, from now on.<\/p>\n

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O\u2019Neal received his second Master\u2019s degree, a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts (MALA) from LSU. In total, the four-time NBA champ now has four certifications, but he claims he has a fifth as well\u2026 \u201cBachelor\u2019s, two master\u2019s, a doctorate, and a street degree,\u201d Shaq said with a smirk. While there isn\u2019t much clarity on the street degree bit, after also being a DJ, rapper, investment mogul, and reserve police officer, O\u2019Neal has unveiled the next step in his professional journey.<\/p>\n

The retired big man is now preparing to don a teacher\u2019s hat. \u201cI\u2019m about to be hired as a professor at LSU,\u201d O\u2019Neal announced. His co-analysts were in shock and in awe, and Kenny Smith probed further about which class the Los Angeles Lakers legend will actually take. \u201cA class on mentorship,\u201d Shaq clarified on Inside the<\/em>\u00a0NBA<\/em><\/a> with Ernie Johnson, even adding, \u201cOh, that\u2019s, I know you\u2019re big into that.\u201d Shaq\u2019s favorite scapegoat, Barkley, immediately interjected himself into the conversation and added a few words of praise before the subject changed. \u201cI\u2019m proud of you for getting a degree, brother,\u201d Chuck said.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neal has already been contributing to teaching and empowering the next generation. The Big Aristotle has the \u2018Shaq Scholars Program\u2019 in partnership with Campus, which provides underserved students with debt-free degrees. His program helps with full-tuition scholarships, laptops, and hands-on mentorship from industry and Silicon Valley leaders. And now, teaching at LSU will also help address an issue close to his heart.<\/p>\n

In December 2024, Shaq revealed why he wanted a mentor growing up. \u201cI wish I had a professor like this to teach me this stuff. Cuz again I know some of you may look up to me, but I\u2019m lucky, I\u2019m one of the luckiest guys in the world,\u201d O\u2019Neal said on an episode of The Grind, a business plan competition from Campus. And while the role of a mentor is to trust the student and help them with their plans to achieve success, Shaq once had his idea shut down brutally\u2026<\/p>\n

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USA Today via Reuters<\/p>\n

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\u201cI always tell a story how I fail my marketing class similar to this, and I came in with Shaq shoes, Shaq shirts, and the guy gave me an F,\u201d the NBA legend recalled. \u201cHe said, \u2018You didn\u2019t put any thought into it. Big guys never sale\u2019 and I was kind of discouraged.\u201d But then, with Magic Johnson as a mentor, O\u2019Neal learned the blueprint for successful business creation, and today he stands with a reported net worth of $500 million. How was he influenced?<\/p>\n

Back when Shaq was drafted in \u201992 by the Orlando Magic, the big man later admitted he blew through $1 million from his $17.4 million rookie contract in roughly 45 minutes. That\u2019s when Johnson got word of what had happened and shared some advice with Shaq. But none of it made sense to the 19-year-old. Fortunately, he was open to learning and eventually realized that Johnson had earned only $40 million during his playing career in the \u201980s. And it was the Lakers legend\u2019s masterful capital investments in Starbucks franchises, healthcare, sports ownership, and real estate that slowly multiplied his income.<\/p>\n

Then came Shaq\u2019s turn to build an investment portfolio of his own, and it is safe to say that he did much more than that. Alongside his professional stints with Reebok, O\u2019Neal has ownership stakes in Google, Papa John\u2019s, and a variety of franchises. He owns a Krispy Kreme franchise in Atlanta and co-founded Big Chicken, a Louisiana-style fried chicken sandwich chain. You were wrong if you thought it ended there\u2026 Shaq has also invested in car washes, health clubs, Las Vegas nightclubs, and, at one point in time, owned 155 Five Guys franchises, roughly 10 percent of all Five Guys locations! The former NBA star, though, doesn\u2019t believe in basking in his success all alone. He has set out to spread the word and educate the younger generation about topics schools often skip.<\/p>\n

Like his co-host, Johnson said, O\u2019Neal is big in the mentorship space. A year ago, when he joined the Sacramento State men\u2019s basketball program as general manager, the former big man made his vision and purpose for joining the front office crystal clear. \u201cThis is about more than banners and trophies, but preparing these student-athletes for life on and off the court,\u201d O\u2019Neal said in a statement. Alongside that vision, though, Shaq believes in talking the talk and walking the walk and continues to educate himself post-retirement.<\/p>\n

As recently as last month, Shaq told the New York Post that he was also thinking about a degree in sports psychology, \u201cbut it was a little too much for me, the psychology field.\u201d But you can never rule anything out when the former Lakers star is involved. He currently holds a Bachelor of General Studies (2000), a Master of Business Administration (2005), a Doctor of Education (2012), and a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts (2026).<\/p>\n

Over the years, despite the luxuries, the big man has insisted his six children, Taahirah, Myles, Shareef, Shaqir, Amirah, and Me\u2019arah, do well at school and become capable regardless of their family name. Alongside setting an example for his kids in the education space, Shaq hates the celebrity label he has acquired. His subsequent actions prove how much he cares about how his children eventually handle their social interactions and lifestyle when he isn\u2019t around.<\/p>\n

\u201cI denounced myself from being a celebrity about 10 years ago because those people are weird. I\u2019m not weird,\u201d O\u2019Neal recently added. \u201cWhenever I come, it\u2019s me and two guys. No entourage. There\u2019s nothing but homeboys coming in\u2026 We treat people with honor and respect. I want to be a regular guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, Shaq might claim he is a regular guy, but no regular person earns four degrees! The NBA legend remains a testament to how celebrities and basketball stars should handle their finances and social lives across their careers and long into retirement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Larisa Fetzer
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If trolling Charles Barkley were a subject, Shaquille O\u2019Neal would have already earned his PhD. We saw another example when Big Diesel returned to Baton Rouge, 26 years later, to receive his actual master\u2019s degree. Shaq managed to convince the faculty member to introduce him as \u201cShaquille \u2018I Hate Charles Barkley\u2019 O\u2019Neal.\u201d He then waved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":912016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1849,37025],"tags":[5438,17397],"class_list":["post-912015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-about","category-im","tag-about","tag-im"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/912016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}