Shaquille O’Neal is getting candid about his use of painkillers.

Appearing on the Monday, August 11 episode of the “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard” podcast, the former professional basketballer questioned whether he was addicted to painkillers despite his doctor’s concerns.

“So, I have a question,” O’Neal, 53, responded after he was asked if he was ever concerned about having an addiction. “Is ‘addiction’ the chemical effect or are you just taking it? I was having a heated discussion with my doctors, like, ‘You were addicted,’ but I didn’t feel high.”

Shepard, 50, noted that while O’Neal might not have felt “high,” he may have “just felt the absence of pain.”

“Yes. I didn’t know that was addiction,” O’Neal replied.

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