Shaquille O’Neal claimed in an exclusive interview that being a DJ kept him from feeling lost after leaving the NBA

“I thought, ‘What the heck? This is what I used to do. “Let me try to pick it up again,” the former basketball player says in reference to DJing, as reported by PEOPLE.

Shaquille O’Neal is well known for being an NBA legend, but he also goes by DJ Diesel.

The 52-year-old former basketball star claims that he has felt akin to what he did while he was a professional player in his second life as a DJ.

He tells PEOPLE, “I started DJing because it gives me the same adrenaline boost that I would get from a championship game.”

O’Neal acknowledges that when he left the NBA, he had no idea what to do with his time off. “I had intended to retire two years after I retired, so I was lost. Thus, I wasn’t really ready,” he says.

“I’ve been playing since I was 14 years old and always had that step into the arena feeling of the game,” the sports analyst goes on. That hour and a half was something I always had. And I lost that when I stopped playing.

O’Neal, trying to figure out what was next for him, took up an old skill, and he was shocked at how much fun he had with it.

“I experienced the same emotion again after attending this concert. I thought, ‘What the heck? This is what I used to do. “Let me try to pick it up again,” he remarks. “Well, it’s enjoyable, but it ends after just an hour and a half.”

O’Neal claims that he spends his time “working hard and staying out of trouble” in addition to DJing. “‘It might be worse’ is one of my mottos. Even though I haven’t played basketball professionally for 20 years, I still have a busy schedule at work. I’m appreciative of that.

52-year-old O’Neal views his high workload as a blessing.

“I am aware that many people in my situation simply wake up and don’t know where they are headed. Thus, I consider it a favor that I have a job,” the former NBA player remarks. “Therefore, I’ll just keep working at any job I can get because I’ll eventually run out of time to do it.”

O’Neal is excited to continue working for a very long time, especially in his role as DJ Diesel. He says, “Hopefully I can go another 10, 20 years.” If not, though, I enjoyed doing it and did it my way.