So I started my own company. My shoes cost around $20 and are best-sellers at Target and Wal-mart. For that price people think you get B.S. quality, but my shoes are good quality and good looking for prices shoes are supposed to be.

Which one athlete, in a sport other than basketball, do you respect the most?
My man David Beckham. He is the best soccer player in the world, and yet his old team shipped him out. Why would you do that to someone who is the best at what he does? That is kinda what I went through.

The chemistry between O’Neal, teammate Kobe Bryant and coach Phil Jackson that brought three consecutive NBA titles to Los Angeles fizzled following the Lakers’ surprising defeat this year to the champion Detroit Pistons. Jackson retired (for now), Bryant re-signed with the Lakers and in July, O’Neal O.K.’d a trade from the Lakers to the Miami Heat.

When you gamble, what do you play?
Blackjack.

You once scored 61 points in an NBA game. What is your record for the most chips you’ve scored in a night?
$80,000

How often do you get to Las Vegas?
Maybe seven times a year. I like to come for the boxing matches, and when Ultimate Fighting Championship is in town I am always here. Vegas is a fun town and I like to have fun. 

Additional photography by: Corbis, Getty Images/andrew D. Bernstein, Getty Images/Lenny Furman, Zumapress