Shaquille O'Neal is one popular guy. The retired Los Angeles Lakers star has a huge event coming up, his annual Shaq's Fun House party that the former athlete hosts before during Super Bowl weekend.

Shaq who also goes by the moniker DJ Diesel when performing his DJ sets, shared with PEOPLE that he “knows everybody” and that he will be performing alongside Ludacris and John Summit who are both longtime friends of the athlete. Shaq will also be performing with DJ Irie.

“I've been friends with Ludacris for over 30 years,” he shares of the rap icon to PEOPLE. “Ludacris used to come by my house every time he was in LA unannounced, just to get some of my chef's cake.”

“And John Summit is a good friend of mine and said he'd love to be involved.”

Another high-profile celeb in Shaq's friend circle is Kendrick Lamar who happens to be the Super Bowl performer this year.

“I know Kendrick personally, so I know he's going to put on a fabulous show.”

The four-time NBA champion shared that they met years ago when they were filming a soap commercial that ended up being “really funny.”

“I'm not going to tell you what happened in the commercial, but it was an accident and it was so good that we just kept it,” he says.

Shaquille O'Neal and his Super Bowl Party

Shaquille O'Neal Los Angeles Lakers Super Bowl
© Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Despite the drama surrounding Kendrick as a choice for this year's Super Bowl — the Los Angeles native has had a very public feud with Drake in 2024, as well as Lil Wayne, made it known that he wanted the opportunity because he is from NOLA.

“That hurt. That hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot,” the “A Milli” rapper said at the time about not being chosen for the Super Bowl. “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. And for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position. So I blame myself for that. But I thought that was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city, so it hurt. It hurt a whole lot.”

“Whoever the halftime performer is, it's somebody that's well respected and well liked,” Shaq said.

However, there is a reason why so many celebs flock to be friends with the Diesel.

“It's all about honor and respect, so every person I come in contact with, superstar or not, I just try to show as much respect as possible,” says O'Neal.

Shaq has a lot to prepare for in the upcoming weeks as his annual party hits New Orleans.

“Man, I was happy when the Super Bowl was headed to the Big Easy. My party — no doubt, no doubt in my mind — will be the No. 1 party,” he says of his all-inclusive event. “Leave your wallet at home!”

“And because I'm the man and I love New Orleans, no matter what kind of tickets you get, all tickets include a six-hour open bar. We want you to drink responsibly and have fun.”

Tickets are on sale now and start at $199.