Shaq Weight Issue Answered

I heard he was on "The South Beach Diet"

 

...........

 

surprised they want him at 325 i would think somewhere closer to 310-315 may be shaq's ideal weight. if i remember right the first year the lakers won in 2000 when shaq was unstoppable he weighed around that range. perfect blend of speed, explosiveness and strength.

regardless a motivated and in shape shaq even at 32 is a gonna be a scary thing for the east

 

Shaq hasn't been 310 since his rookie season.

 

I concurr.

 

another shaq article:

Slimmer Shaq working to be big with Heat
Thursday, September 02, 2004
John DeShazier
BATON ROUGE -- There he was Wednesday evening, dangling from a too-small chair while seated behind a too-small table, hunched over microphones and tape recorders. Larger in stature than the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, larger than the Bo Campbell Auditorium in which he addressed LSU's student-athletes, just about larger than life when it comes to athletes because when names are dropped these days, few are bigger.

Shaq.

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Now a member of the Miami Heat, courtesy of a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers that was forced by the disgruntled big man.

The newest celebrity on South Beach.

The three-time NBA champion and three-time NBA Finals MVP.

The reason to believe the scale is balanced between the Eastern and Western conferences or, perhaps, tilted to the East, since it also is home to the champion Detroit Pistons.

Call him The Big Heat now, or maybe The Big Inferno.

Or, perhaps better, add The Big Story to the litany of nicknames Shaquille O'Neal has accumulated, because no NBA news this offseason caused more of a stir than his dissatisfaction with and divorce from the Lakers -- and star guard Kobe Bryant -- after helping the franchise advance to the NBA Finals for the fourth time in five seasons.

Not Team USA fizzling en route to winning a bronze medal at the Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Not scoring champion Tracy McGrady being traded from Orlando to Houston as part of a stud-swapping deal that sent fellow All-Star Steve Francis to the Magic.

Not any coach being hired, free agent being signed or pick being drafted.

Shaq.

"No earthly thing can bother me because I'm at peace with myself," said O'Neal, who spoke at LSU's Student-Athlete Expectation Seminar. "I have no hard feelings (toward the Lakers). It's a business."

And from all indications, Shaq is taking care of his end. The Heat, which pulled a heist on the Lakers (Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant for O'Neal is a joke), will love what they see. Or, even more, what they don't.

There'll be a lot less of Shaq to haul around on his 7-foot-1 frame this season. He weighs 331 pounds, down from the 355 he weighed when he met with Heat president Pat Riley less than two months ago, which probably is close to what he carried the last few seasons.

He's still a little short of his target of 325, but if 331 pounds can look svelte, it does on Shaq.

"I've always been the type of player to do what I'm told to do," he said of the weight loss. "The Lakers wanted me to lift (and build muscle mass). I'll be 325 or below when I report to camp."

Where he finds the time is anyone's guess. He was speaking to students Wednesday night and is hosting a golf tournament today. A couple of nights ago, he was on stage at the MTV Music Awards. Sprinkle in a couple of appearances in Miami and who knows where else, and it seems Shaq spreads himself a little thin.

"I'm going to tell (the student-athletes) a little bit about time management," Shaq said. "If they become masters of their time, they can pretty much do anything."

And, he said, he'd tell them that once they leave LSU, it's a "whole different ballgame." And let them in on a couple of his secrets -- strive for simplicity and study whomever it is they consider the best at what they want to accomplish. During his time at LSU, Shaq studied perennial NBA All-Star Patrick Ewing, which is why O'Neal said he wore kneepads when he played for the Tigers.

"There's a lot of expectations on student-athletes," he said. "They're expected to stay out of trouble, be respectful, do good in the classroom and win."

Those seem minuscule compared to the expectations on Miami, courtesy of the addition of Shaq.

"I get the chance to go down there and do what I do best -- win," he said. "I'm very focused."

He should be, since so many have been focused so intently on him this offseason.

http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-12/109410470297880.xml

 

I think the Lakers would call bullchitty on that...they may have asked him to work out and build mass, but I'm sure they didn't ask him to be overweight. He's just motivated now. Let's see if it lasts past one season if they don't win.

 

Shaq was around 295lbs during his rookie season.

 

Yep, Shaq was around 295, in fact I think I remember seeing or hearing that he was listed at 292 pounds. But he looks to be in outstanding shape. I'm glad he's out East!

 

I remember him being 303, but whatever.