Shaq Has a Giant Koi Fish Named ‘Shakoi O’Neal,’ and It Is Legendary
Shaquille O’Neal has always done everything at full volume. Four NBA championships, a Hall of Fame career, business deals, TV appearances, and jokes he delivers with total confidence. When Shaq commits to something, he really commits.
That’s why his latest flex hits different. It isn’t a car, a watch, or another headline-grabbing purchase, but something stranger, funnier, and somehow perfectly on-brand!
A Fish Purchase That Turned Into A Whole Production
The koi did not come from a small backyard setup. Shaquille O’Neal has been building a large pond at his Georgia home with YouTube builder Ed Beaulieu, also known as “The Pond Professor.”
This was not a simple landscaping job. The crew used heavy equipment and moved close to a million pounds of rock to shape the space properly. Reports estimate the ecosystem-style pond costs around $500,000.
When the setting is that large, the fish naturally becomes part of the story. This was not a small decorative pond with a few koi. The space was designed to stand out, so the main fish ended up getting just as much attention.
The “main character” koi is a Yamabuki, a metallic yellow-gold variety that stands out in clear water. In Shaq’s case, it wasn’t sourced locally; it was shipped in from Japan! The size is what makes people blink twice, as reports about the delivery describe a Yamabuki koi weighing about 35 pounds.
The Name Is The Most Shaq Part Of The Whole Thing
During the delivery moment, Shaq cracked that he was naming the koi “Charles Barkley,” which makes sense if you’ve ever watched him roast Barkley on “Inside the NBA.” But the name that stuck in the wider pond storyline is even better: “Shakoi O’Neal,” a pun that basically writes itself once you say it out loud.
Fitz’s Fish Ponds used the nickname “Shakoi O’Neal” in its own coverage of the koi delivery. So you get the full Shaq experience in one moment: a massive, expensive, carefully sourced animal paired with a dad-joke name that sounds like it should be printed on a jersey.
A lot of celebrity home content blurs together, but this one stands out because it features ingredients that rarely appear together. First, it’s oddly specific. A koi is a real hobby, with real logistics and real care involved. Second, it matches the way Shaquille O’Neal handles fame. He likes luxury, but he also likes a laugh, and he’s willing to turn his own backyard into content if the result is entertaining. A 35-pound, 39-inch koi shipped in from Japan is already wild. Adding “Shakoi O’Neal” makes it historic.