Shaquille O'Neal reveals frightening experience of nearly 'drowning' because of 7-1, 300-pound frame: "I never came up"

Shaquille O'Neal, nicknamed "The Diesel," is recognized for the sheer strength and power he played with at the height of his NBA career. He was often feared around the league for his dominant stature and the force he brought with him on the court.

In an interview on "The Really Good Podcast" with Bobbi Althoff, the former NBA player talked about the one time he feared the possibility of drowning.

"Scuba dive, but I am too heavy," O'Neal, "because when you scuba dive they give you weights, and then when I went down, I hit the button, but I never came back up. Almost drowned. But then my instincts kicked in. ... I just said the famous word 'Shaqmu.'

"'Shaqmu,' like Shamu. And I just did like that, and then I was at the top."

At the time of that experience, he was listed as 7-foot-1 with a 300-pound frame that made him even heavier during the scuba dive experience as additional weights were also added.

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Shaquille O'Neal's strength led to an adjustment on the NBA's end

During Shaquille O'Neal's early seasons in the league with the Orlando Magic, there were a couple of instances that saw the big man putting his strength to work on the backboards.

His strength was too much to handle by the backboard, as the former Chairman of the Committee, Rob Thorn, talked about the league's adjustment to the matter, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

"We had a new thing this year with (backboards) both coming down and being broken," Thorn said. "We're going to make sure that all of the equipment is up to snuff. Whether it was Shaquille O'Neal or someone else, with the size of these guys, it was just a matter of time. He just happened to be a little bigger and stronger than most."

At the time, there was no other player who played with that much strength like Shaquille O'Neal. With the league adjusting to O'Neal's incredible force at the rim, it allowed the big man to play the brand and kind of basketball he wanted to run with.

However, from O'Neal's perspective, he had a reason behind all the backboards he broke at the time. He revealed this in an interview with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes on the "All The Smoke" podcast.

"It was all being mad at my dad for punching me in my one face that one day," O'Neal said. "Because I knew if I dunked hard, I got your attention. Especially if you're big and strong and I go through you and I throw it down. Now I got your attention. Now it's going to be easier for me the rest of my career, so I just wanted to really get your attention.

"And I know they was going to show it on ESPN, and no other big guy was doing that. Like I had to take pride in being different. Another thing I was trying to do is get these commercial endorsements. It wasn't any big guys doing it."

There have been a few NBA players who came after Shaquille O'Neal who almost mimicked his capabilities and overall build, but no one has come close still.