Shaquille O'Neal has had a shaved head for as long as you can probably remember.
Those of us who don't really know basketball probably know him from the movie Kazaam, where he played a genie, or from the bad/amazing fighting game Shaq Fu, where he traveled to an alternate dimension and fought various creatures.
Here's what Shaq looked like in the 90s:
Here is what he looks like now:
“I’m keeping it. It ain’t going nowhere.” @SHAQ is here for all the smoke 😂 https://t.co/9ZqyKzOWTm— Bleacher Report (@Bleacher Report) 1583294329.0
Have we ever really seen his hairline before now?
Well, thanks to his friend Dwyane Wade—a fellow NBA veteran who retired from the Miami Heat—Shaq was forced to highlight his hairline in front of a crowd.
.@SHAQ’s punishment for losing his friendly wager with D-Wade is priceless 😂 https://t.co/JII7yrrH99— NBA on TNT (@NBA on TNT) 1583282162.0
😭😭😭😭😭😭😂😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/ncgufMord0— Shareef O’Neal (@Shareef O’Neal) 1583283286.0
Bruh dwade aint a real friend lol why he do that to him https://t.co/eRui98C1Vz— thenyquilmagician💙🏁 (@thenyquilmagician💙🏁) 1583282587.0
https://t.co/UqOVaXtWrP https://t.co/0cJXJC65lO— dennis (@dennis) 1583282711.0
The bet came about when Shaq bet that the Milwaukee Bucks would beat the Miami Heat. The Heat won the game 105-89.
Shaq asked Dwyane Wade if he wanted money for the bet, to which Wade replied:
"'Nah, you have to let your hairline grow out. We want to see your hairline looking like Kenny Smith,'...So I just lined it up for y'all so y'all can see where my hairline starts. I look good, and I'm proud to do it, and I'm keeping it all week."
@SHAQ hairline looks like your skullcap after you take off your helmet. 😂😂😂 https://t.co/MGvOqepXLP— Will Blackmon 🍷 (@Will Blackmon 🍷) 1583283039.0
@Fayjones2000 @SportsCenter @SHAQ @DwyaneWade @NBAonTNT https://t.co/rsFHU6WJvH— Shariff 🍀💜💛🐍🍀 (@Shariff 🍀💜💛🐍🍀) 1583282957.0
Aw man!! @shaq is wild’n with his hair lining tonight!! Wow!! He got that IMAX movie screen up top!! 😂😂😂 #insidethenba— Quentin Richardson (@Quentin Richardson) 1583281970.0
if he tried to salute somebody he'd tear a rotator cuff https://t.co/er3W4DwSia— Big Baby Bandera (@Big Baby Bandera) 1583283566.0
My man has too much fun... we shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously. https://t.co/eP6INlAgfT— Michael C. Wright (@Michael C. Wright) 1583283578.0
Shaq also invited mean comments via the Instagram video he posted later that day.
"That new diesel fade on point ain't it. The hardest cruelest comments gets a free @invictawatch, go ahead, hurt my feelings."
And people sure took him up on it.
Shaq got the Carlos Boozer special 😂 https://t.co/sa7mMvkN2w— Andrew Joseph (@Andrew Joseph) 1583283569.0
I’ve seen this Shaq pic 74827 times in the TL and every time I keep thinking its Hannibal Buress https://t.co/w6UK326OKc— Tyler Conway (@Tyler Conway) 1583283161.0
Shaq looking like he went to the Whitlock Hair Club 😂 https://t.co/WXXxOiewTO— Tyler Conway (@Tyler Conway) 1583282325.0
Shaq says he lost a bet to Dwyane Wade. Is that a skull cap or a yarmulke? https://t.co/dkLWhTdmt3— Frank Isola (@Frank Isola) 1583282236.0
LOOK AT SHAQ 💀💀💀 https://t.co/iPz2Xt25hm— Hoop Central (@Hoop Central) 1583282590.0
Shaq continues to be proud of his receding hairline. Hey, it happens to the best of us.