ABC/Eric McCandless
Athletes generally do pretty well on Dancing With the Stars, as their athletic background helps them with the weekly preparations and intense workouts they do to get the dances just right each time.
Shaquille O’Neal recently told US Weekly that he wouldn’t do DWTS now since it’s already been on the air for so long.
“I can’t do it, yeah,” he said. “I wouldn’t do it now. I like being the innovator. If it ws season 1, I would do it. But I can’t do it in season 2.”
He added that he would never do the show after the first season just because it has been on for many seasons. He also said that he wasn’t sure that he had the right amount of “discipline and courage” to put himself out there on the show.
If Shaq Did ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ He Would Likely Do Well
Though he’s said he would never do the show, it’s likely that if he did join the cast as a celebrity at some point in the future, Shaq would fare well on the dance floor, as professional athletes generally get pretty far in the competition.
Out of the last 28 seasons, athletes have taken home the trophy eleven times. That’s nearly half of the mirrorball winners being athletes.
NFL running back Emmit Smith was the first athlete to win the show, as he took home the title alongside Cheryl Burke in 2006, and athletes would continue taking home the trophy in the next few years.
Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno won the championship in season 4, Helio Castroneves won the year after, and their wins were followed up by Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi taking home the trophy and then Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson winning the year after.
It was five seasons before NFL wide receiver Hines Ward took home the trophy in season 12 and another former NFL wide receiver, Donald Driver, won in season 14. Season 18 was won by Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis, season 23 was won by Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez, and former NFL running back Rashad Jennings won in season 24. Most recently, Former figure skater Adam Rippon won the all-athletes season 26.
Shaq Watches ‘DWTS’ & Was Rooting for Charles Oakley
This season, O’Neal was rooting for fellow athlete Charles Oakley to take home the trophy. Unfortunately, Oakley was the first to be eliminated from the competition this season.
“I thought his feet work was pretty nice,” he told US Weekly. “He looked really good at something that they’d been wanting me to do for a while, but I don’t have enough discipline and courage to do it.”
He added that Oakley had always stayed in shape and “his hips are still working really good.”
At the beginning of the season, O’Neal took to Instagram to encourage his followers to vote for Oakley on the show.
“You know who to vote for, [Charles Oakley] had some great feetwork,” O’Neal posted on September 22.
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