The Story Behind Shaquille O'Neal's Hilarious Friendship With Adam Sandler

In addition to his NBA career and work as a basketball analyst, Shaquille O'Neal has put together an impressive acting resume that includes multiple Adam Sandler films. Earlier in his playing days, O'Neal caught the acting bug resulting in a mixed bag of on-screen performances — he portrayed a wish-granting genie in the critically-maligned "Kazaam" in 1996. Later, the former Los Angeles Lakers star reflected on why he took the role. "I was a medium-level juvenile delinquent from Newark who always dreamed about doing a movie," he told GQ, via NBC Sports. "Someone said, 'Hey, here's $7 million, come in and do this genie movie.'"

Although a few of his earlier film choices were missteps, O'Neal's work on Sandler comedies including "Grown Ups 2," "Jack and Jill," "Blended," and "Hubie Halloween" were a natural fit. "A lot of times I play my own self and a lot of times I'm playing characters that are still myself," the "Inside the NBA" host told Time in 2014. "All the Adam movies, that's me. Doing silly moves, that's all me," he added. O'Neal spoke about the limits of his acting range, and revealed how he cried during a scene in 2014's "Blended" starring Sandler. "Adam poked me in the eye," O'Neal joked.

Sandler has had high praise for his NBA legend co-star. "He's funnier than any of us, swear to god," the "Happy Gilmore" star said on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" in 2013. Later, O'Neal revealed the hilarious story as to how he snagged parts in Sandler's films.

Despite his impressive on-court resume, it took some time for Shaquille O'Neal to earn a role in an Adam Sandler film. During O'Neal's tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, the "Billy Madison" star was a courtside fixture at games. The All-Star center decided to use this time to pitch himself as a potential actor in one of the comedian's films. "Adam, give me a movie," O'Neal recalled constantly saying to Sandler, per a 2021 interview with PopCulture. The actor and producer had one stipulation for the Lakers big man. "Win a championship first!" This exchange went on for years, but O'Neal eventually brought home a trio of titles for the Lakers, plus another with the Miami Heat. Years later, the "Just Go With It" star remembered the exchange. "I forgot all about what he said, and he called me one day and said, 'Shaq, you got four championships, I'll give you four movies,'" O'Neal recalled to PopCulture.

Even though getting roles in Sandler's films was on O'Neal's bucket list, filming wasn't always smooth sailing. He recalled how Sandler relished filming a "Hubie Halloween" scene that was particularly gross. "I had to do this scene where I'm eating a sandwich with this girl and french kissing her at the same time," O'Neal said on NBA on TNT in June. "So Adam made me do it about 50 times. Cut!" he added. Sandler later shared another story about his quest to see O'Neal in the buff. 

While making the promotional rounds for "Grown Ups 2" in 2013, which featured Shaquille O'Neal, Adam Sandler spoke about working with his burly co-star. During an appearance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," Sandler recalled the actors playing a pick up game with O'Neal and how it was thrilling. Once the game was finished, the "Murder Mystery" star wanted to spend some more time with the former Orlando Magic player. "Shaq has to take a shower ... In my head I'm like, 'I gotta see Shaq's penis,'" Sandler said. The comedian told a story about attempting to sneak in on O'Neal in the shower, and the tale was immortalized into a cartoon on the late night show.

That wasn't the only time Sandler pushed the envelope with the NBA great. Fortunately for the "Click" star, O'Neal took the actor's hijinks in stride. "The funniest Adam moment for me was when I would miss a lot of free throws, and he'd f***in' get in his Bobby Boucher voice, 'Bend your f***in' knees Shaq,'" O'Neal recalled on NBA on TNT in June.

In 2021, after a video of Sandler playing hoops with pros went viral, O'Neal was able to turn the tables and offer critiques on the comedian's game. "He's legit. Not pro legit but he's definitely LA Fitness, you know, 24-Hour Fitness legit," O'Neal said on the "Green Light with Chris Long" podcast in 2021, via Hola!