Watch out, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson! Shaquille O’Neal just posted a thirst trap of his gym body and fans can’t get enough of it.
The former NBA star posted a video on Instagram flexing his body, which many viewers couldn’t help but notice is incredibly ripped, The Atlanta Black Star reports. In the clip, O’Neal emerges from black sliding doors that appear to let you into the former basketball star’s home gym. He enters the frame shirtless, while wearing what comedian Gary Owens mentions in the comments as “Bengals shorts.”
O’Neal doesn’t say anything during the video — but he doesn’t need to. His several bodybuilder-inspired poses do the talking.
“#THOTDADDYTHURSDAY STARTS TODAY,” the 50-year-old captioned the post, which has raked up almost half a million views in less than a week.
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Viewers quickly flooded the comments with their adoration of the business mogul’s body.
“OK, Shaq looking like a chocolate hulk,” one user wrote.
“I sat and watched the whole thing, OK chocolate!” Added another.
“Ain’t nothing like a chocolate man,” a viewer shared.
Entertainment Tonight host Nischelle Turner bestowed upon O’Neal what may become his newest nickname.
“The Prince of Thotlandia … ,” she wrote with a laughing emoji.
The thirst trap clip comes after the G.O.A.T. player expressed his commitment to shedding some pounds. Back in 2021, while chatting with Men’s Health, the former Laker noted that he gained some weight during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. He shared that, at one point, he weighed 419 pounds. Since then, he’s dedicated to living a healthier lifestyle and getting his body to a healthier place.
While appearing on the Impaulsive podcast with YouTuber Logan Paul, he chatted about what inspired his love of the gym and where he’s at in his fitness journey.
“I was looking at myself and I had that Charles Barkley retirement body. All right, I didn’t want my stomach over the belly anymore so I’m just like, ‘Let me go ahead and get slim.'”
The Hall of Fame icon also revealed that he’s lost nearly 40 pounds.
“I was 401 pounds, now I’m 365. I’m trying to take it back to 345 and I want to have muscles everywhere and I want to do underwear [Fruit of the Looms] with my sons.”
Looks like O’Neal is well on his way to a healthier, happier him.
