All About Shaq’s Parents: Mom Lucille O’Neal, Late Stepdad Phillip Harrison and Dad Joseph Toney

Shaquille O’Neal reconnected with his biological father, Joseph Toney, as an adult

Shaquille O’Neal credits his career entirely to the support of his parents, Lucille O’Neal and Phillip Harrison.

When the legendary NBA champion was born in 1972, his mother Lucille was still a teenager and his biological father, Joseph Toney, was headed down a bad path. Shortly after Shaq’s birth, Joseph was sent to prison and Lucille was left to raise him on her own.

“Lucille O’Neal is my best friend. My mom has always, always, been there for me," Shaq wrote in his memoir Shaq Uncut: My Story. "She learned to be tough at a very young age. Life wasn’t always very kind to her, so she did her best to protect me."

After raising Shaq as a single mother for several years, she met Phillip, her future husband. From that moment on, Phillip took on a father figure role in Shaq’s life, later sharing in an interview with Andscape that he saw his son as his “flesh and blood from the beginning.”

Together, Lucille and Phillip raised Shaq and his three siblings, keeping them on the straight and narrow — even if it took some tough love. Phillip encouraged Shaq’s basketball career and told him to keep pushing when things got hard, eventually leading to his prolific career in the NBA.

“He’s the guy that told me one day that I would be here,” Shaq said while speaking during All-Star Weekend in 2022. "He takes me to Madison Square Garden ... I look at him and say, ‘Sir, this is what I want to be when I grow up.’ His exact words: ‘If you listen to me, I’ll make you one of those most dominant big men ever.’ ”

Here is everything to know about Shaq's parents, including mom Lucille O’Neal, late stepdad Phillip Harrison and dad Joseph Toney.

Lucille and Joseph welcomed Shaq when they were teenagers

Shaq’s mother, Lucille, and his biological father, Joseph, met as teenagers. They had been dating for three years, and Lucille had recently graduated from high school when they became pregnant. At the time, Joseph was heading down the wrong path after getting involved with illegal activities.

Shaq was born on March 6, 1972, and while Joseph was there when he was born, per the Los Angeles Times, it wasn’t long before Lucille was on her own. When Shaq was still an infant, Joseph was sent to federal prison on a conviction involving fraudulent checks.

"My mom, Lucille O’Neal, was on her own when she had me. She was seventeen years old when she got pregnant. I never knew why my mother gave me a Muslim name," Shaq wrote in Shaq Uncut, referring to his full name, Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal.

He continued, "I guess it might have been because she felt like an outcast, or thought nobody loved her. Shaquille meant ‘little one’ and Rashaun meant ‘warrior.’ I was her little warrior. It was going to be me and my mom against the world."

Joseph was not involved in Shaq’s upbringing

After Joseph was sent to prison, Lucille and Shaq only had each other. Joseph did not have any communication with the family, losing touch while he was locked up. Though it was difficult for Lucille, she says she did whatever she could to ensure Shaq was taken care of.

“Shaquille and I grew up together. I learned about sacrificing what I wanted so my son could get what he needed," Lucille told Memphis Parent. "I went on welfare for a time, and then got a job. Since Shaquille’s father wasn’t around, I had to stand on my own financially."

Although Joseph told the Los Angeles Times he never met Shaq as a child, the basketball star recalls first seeing his biological father when he was around 7 years old. In his memoir, Shaq says he began to have questions about his father, and Lucille thought it would be a good time to introduce them. By then, Lucille had remarried Phillip, whom Shaq saw as his father figure.

“The day I went to meet him he was nice enough," the sports analyst wrote. "He said, ‘What’s up? Hey kid, how are you doing? I’m your daddy.’ I wasn’t really sure what to think. I had this other guy at home who sure acted like my daddy. Phillip Harrison had given me a place to live, some toys, and even though I got in trouble a lot, I was cool with my life."

He continued, “When you are a kid, all you know is what you’ve got. After I met my ‘real’ daddy, I went home with my mom to Phillip, who as far as I was concerned was the only father I was going to pay any attention to.”

After their initial meeting, Shaq would be estranged from Joseph for decades.

Lucille married her husband Phillip when Shaq was young

When Shaq was a toddler, his mother Lucille met her future husband Phillip while working at a local city hall. The couple began dating, and Phillip, who had two daughters of his own, raised Shaq as his own from the time he was 2 years old. Lucille and Phillip later married and eventually welcomed a son.

“I respect a man that walks into a city hall, meets a lady. The lady has a son, he says, ‘So what?’ He takes the lady and his son in and brings in his two daughters, and they have a family, and they raise a family. I respect the man,” Shaq shared on the In Depth with Graham Bensinger podcast.

Growing up, Phillip took care of Shaq and was the primary disciplinarian in his life. He credits Phillip with driving him to become better in all aspects of life.

“The term stepfather I don’t really use. I use father. He’s the guy who made me who I am," Shaq added. "I’m in a big old house because of that man. I’m still relevant five years after playing [basketball] because of that man. I’m responsible because of that man. ... I owe everything to him and him only.”

Lucille and Phillip worked hard to provide for Shaq and his siblings

When Shaq was growing up, his family struggled financially — although he says he was mostly unaware that they were poor when he was a child. While Phillip worked hard to support the family with his military career and other side jobs, they still had to move often.

“I didn’t know I was poor. I guess I should have,” Shaq wrote in Shaq Uncut. “We moved all the time because we couldn’t make the rent. My mom tried to feed a young family of six on Chicken à la King out of a can. We ate a lot of franks and beans and noodles. Lots of noodles."

He added, "I was hungry all the time, but I figured that was just because I was so damn big. Every morning that I woke up it seemed like I had grown another couple of inches.”

As Shaq got older, he says his father was more transparent about their financial issues, even telling him once that he couldn't buy Christmas presents. As a teenager, Phillip told Shaq that he had to get a job if there were things he wanted, and the basketball star decided to get a job at Burger King.

While he didn’t last long at the fast food joint, he ended up working for his dad as a caretaker for his younger siblings.

Related: Everything to Know About Shaquille O'Neal's Family (He's a Dad of 6)

Phillip’s military career brought the family to Germany

While Shaq spent the beginning of his childhood in New Jersey, things began to get dangerous in the family’s neighborhood, and they relocated to Hinesville, Georgia. When he was 10, Phillip came home and announced they were moving after he got a job at Fort Stewart.

Though he didn’t want to leave his friends at the time, Shaq says he now completely respects his father’s decision to settle them on the army base.

“I respect the guy that says, ‘You know what? We got to get my family out of Newark. The drugs are bad, guys are starting to shoot and kill. Let’s move to Georgia. Let’s get a house, let’s get a land,” Shaq said on the In Depth with Graham Bensinger podcast.

After living in Georgia for a few years, Phillip’s military career took the family to Europe, where they lived on an army base in Germany. It was there that Shaq says he began honing his basketball skills.

“When I first went, I hated my father for taking me out of the country ... But when I got to Germany, I was able to focus on my craft," Shaq told The New York Public Library, adding that he didn't risk getting into trouble in the country because if he "[messed] around," it would be "all over."

After spending time in Germany, the family later relocated to Texas.

Phillip helped teach Shaq how to play basketball

When Shaq was about 8 years old and on his way to being 6 feet tall, Phillip began showing him the basics of basketball. According to Shaq Uncut, he taught him “how to box out and shoot” with his “elbow tucked in the right way” and gave him books about basketball, including one about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s life.

While Shaq admits he initially struggled with the sport and couldn’t dunk for years, Phillip continued encouraging him. Then, when he was a teenager, Phillip took him to a Knicks basketball game that changed his life. After watching Julius Erving play, Shaq decided that was what he wanted to do with his life.

“That’s when I said, ‘Okay, that’s what I want to do.’ I’m a changed man. From that day on, no more juvenile delinquent, tried better in school, stayed out of trouble. They never had a problem out of me after that day,” Shaq said on the In Depth with Graham Bensinger podcast.

He continued, “When Dr. J went baseline and the crowd went crazy, I was like, ‘I want that. I want people to scream my name. That’s what I want.’ So from that day on, I came, and I practiced every day. Still wasn’t any good. Practice, practice, practice.”

Lucille was also a major supporter of Shaq’s basketball career, attending every game she could from the time he was 6 years old, knowing how important it was to be visible to her son.

“They want to be able to look into the stands and know you're there,” she told the Today show. “They want to see you. They don't have to say anything; they know you're there.”

Shaq used his first big paycheck to pay his parent’s debts

In 1992, Shaq was getting ready to enter the NBA draft when he got his first big check from an endorsement for Classic Car. He spent a portion of the $1 million check on his parents, paying off their debts.

“The first thing I did was take care of some matters on the home front. Both my mom and my dad had terrible credit, so I took out $150,000 and paid that off. I’m rich. I can do these things,” Shaq shared in Shaq Uncut.

He went on to buy both of his parents new Mercedes Benz cars, and once he was playing professionally, he bought his parents their own home and hired them to work for him, according to an interview with Drink Champs.

Lucille overcame alcoholism

As Shaq’s career progressed, his mother found herself dealing with alcoholism.

She admits that she was spending her son’s money to buy drinks and eventually realized that she had gone down the wrong path and needed to turn her life around.

“I got tired of being sick, of having hangovers in the morning. I began to lose my memory. And I didn’t want to embarrass Shaquille. I didn’t want people to see Shaq’s mother as a drunk,” Lucille told Memphis Parent.

She continued, "The world was paying more attention and I needed to give them something positive to look at. You have to make up your mind that you’re going to better yourself. I wasn’t a bad mother, but I had demons. I needed to be delivered from alcohol.”

Lucille and Phillip divorced

After over two decades together, they went their separate ways. While not much is known about their split, in 2015, Lucille told Memphis Parent that she had been single for “15 years."

Following their divorce, Shaq helped his mother go back to school. She enrolled in an adult education program at Bethune-Cookman University, where she graduated with a degree in business administration in 2003.

Lucille then attended the University of Phoenix, where she got a master's in organizational management two years later.

Phillip died in 2013

In September 2013, Shaq’s father, Phillip, died following almost a decade of health issues, including diabetes and hypertension.

Shaq admits that he was devastated by the loss of his father, and although he had taught him never to cry, the basketball player openly grieved. Looking back, Shaq says he realized he didn’t say thank you enough to his father.

“My father taught me not to really cry and be sad, so when he passed away, I really let it go because I didn't get to tell him thank you enough,” he shared on Shaq Life.

His father also left him in charge of the entire family, making his son promise to care for his mother and siblings. Shaq has proudly upheld that vow, explaining that his father instilled in him that it was "a man’s job to protect and provide.”

“Because of you Sgt Philip a Harrison I fulfilled all my dreams, I kno you resting easy big man. Can’t thank you enough, and don’t worry I got the family,” Shaq wrote on Instagram in 2020.

Shaq was estranged from Joseph until 2016

Throughout his life, Shaq’s biological father, Joseph, tried to reach out to him. When he was released from prison while Shaq was still a child, Joseph decided with Phillip that it would be best for him to take a step back while he was still working on himself.

“When he came back from prison, I saw him in the park, and we agreed that because he already had another child, I would be Shaquille’s dad and take care of him,” Phillip told the LA Times. “We even shook hands on it.”

Although Joseph gave up his parental rights, he says he didn’t think he would never see his son again. As Shaq got older, Joseph tried to reach out through people who knew his son, but Phillip stopped him, hoping to protect the rising athlete.

Shaq eventually avoided seeing Joseph when he attended one of his basketball games. In 1994, he released a song called “My Biological Didn’t Bother,” condemning Joseph for leaving the family. Shaq later explained that he didn’t want to meet his biological father out of respect for Phillip.

“That will probably never, ever happen,” Shaq said in 2002, per Andscape. “Nothing personal. Philip Harrison raised me, made me who I am today. It would be disrespectful of him to meet somebody else and call somebody else my father. I could never do that, no matter what the circumstances are.”

When Phillip died, Shaq says he reconsidered meeting Joseph in the hopes of personal healing. In 2016, the pair finally met and had the chance to discuss their separate paths. After sharing an embrace, Shaq assured Joseph that he wasn't upset with him.

“I don’t judge. He had some problems when he was young. I don’t judge him. I don’t fault him,” Shaq later told Dr. Phil in 2019. “My thing now is just as long as we’re both here, we just get to know each other. ... I’m not the judge and the jury. My job is just to love him as much as I can now.”

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