Shaq Says She’s Making Mom Proud After Past ‘Delinquent’-Inspired ‘Shaq-a-Claus’ Events

Shaquille O’Neal opens up about his decision to do whatever he can to help youth every holiday season… and admits that he used to be a “high-level juvenile delinquent” but now does everything he can to make his mother proud.

The four-time NBA champion called it quits Karel And Babcock on “TMZ Live” after another successful annual “Shaq-A-Claus” event … where he distributed tons of toys, clothing, technology and food to more than a thousand young people in Georgia.

Shaq credits his mother — Lucille O’Neal — for coming up with the idea for the event… and considering he wasn’t on his best behavior growing up, he makes up for it with his actions in the present.

“The only motivation is to make her laugh,” he said. “I have done a lot, received a lot, possessed a lot. But the greatest feeling I get is when my mother says she is proud of me, because there was a time in our lives from 2 to 16 years when she was not proud of me was.”

In addition to the freebies, Shaq also left the kids with some solid knowledge… saying, “Listen to your parents, and you can be anything you want.”