"I feel like Charles Barkley eating a piece of chocolate cake" - NBA world pours in their wishes for Shaquille O'Neal's birthday, The Big Diesel takes to Instagram to convey his gratitude

Hall-of-Fame big man Shaquille O'Neal just celebrated his birthday on Sunday and deservedly got well-wishes and greetings across different platforms. From entertainment to sports, the iconic NBA legend is getting toasted for his 50th birthday. O'Neal, who wanted his 5-0 celebration to be the “best birthday ever,” certainly appeared to be having a grand time over the weekend.

The charismatic four-time NBA champ who’s well-known for charity work, outspoken, hilarious and often controversial takes on anything under the sun, grabbed the limelight since last Friday. Social media lit up in celebration, honoring the life and work of Shaquille O'Neal before and during his big day.

On Friday, he gratefully received a Dodge Charger Hellcat that carries a supercharged 6.2L V8 engine with 797 horsepower:

“Best birthday ever thanks to @swaggpack_shaq and the rest of @atlanta_street_xecs and @padgettmotorsports for getting me my brand new dodge hellcat charger. Best car club ever. Love you guys thanks. I feel like Charles Barkley eating a piece of chocolate cake.”

Shaquille O'Neal is an avid car collector, with several sought-after and rare models in his garage. One of his prized cars in the collection is a Cadillac Eldorado Convertible driven by Tony Montana (Al Pacino) in the movie Scarface. It’s safe to say that Hellcat is getting a cozy home in the former Lakers superstar's fleet of vehicles.

A few days before his birthday, Shaquille O'Neal also received a birthday cake from the Inside the NBA crew, featuring Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. The “Superman” was obviously not too thrilled to see the cake that had a picture of Dwight Howard wearing the DC superhero’s cape.

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Besides the cake that Shaq practically destroyed on the floor, Sir Charles belted a duet with Grammy-award-winning singer Adele, singing a heartfelt Happy Birthday.

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Of all the greetings, none though was as heartwarming as his son Shareef O'Neal’s touching message to the “Big Diesel:”

“Happy 50th twin! I love you!

Shareef is following his father’s basketball footsteps as the youngster is now playing for Shaquille's alma mater, the LSU Tigers. Recently, the younger O’Neal posted a hilarious photo of himself and his father posing side-by-side. As they practically stand nose-to-nose, he good-naturedly calls himself a twin of his more illustrious dad.

Shaquille O'Neal wanted to share his birthday with fans

Thousands of basketball fans had fun at Shaq's Fun House. [Photo: Twitter]

Shaquille O'Neal also expressed surprise at reaching the milestone figure. Despite the years, he remains as relevant today as he was back in his playing days.

The LA Lakers legend also went out of his way to host the annual Shaq’s Fun House with performances by a few of his friends like Lil Wayne, Zedd and Diplo.

O'Neal posted about the fun-filled event on his Instagram account:

“We couldn’t have pulled it off without each and every one of you. See you next year in Phoenix, AZ!”