There are many posts here on the ShaqFu Radio blog talking about our man Shaq’s generosity and helpfulness. This one, from a former teammate, is a little bigger than most. Read on…
In the past, we’ve seen stories about O’Neal helping a young man pay for an engagement ring at an Atlanta-area jewelry store… or purchasing a laptop for a mom who needed it for her home-schooling youngster. Even buying a fast-food meal (or two, or three) for hungry people he spotted in local burger shops.
During a recent interview with DJ Vlad (of VladTV fame from YouTube), former Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers star player John Salley talked about how Shaq once lent him $70,000, and then later refused Salley when he went to repay O’Neal.
The two men had careers that only slightly overlapped. For his part, Salley was on the latter end of his career, having been part of the “Bad Boys” squad of the Detroit Pistons, then later went on to play with the Chicago Bulls, where he helped that team win the 1996 NBA Championship.
The two players met up when Salley came out of retirement in 1999 to join the Lakers on a short-term contract. It was that year the Lakers won the first of their history-making three-peat of Championships.
In 2000, Salley retired again, this time for good. Like Shaq, Salley wanted to get more into the business world when he left the NBA. That led Salley to create a company in the cannabis business, something that was just taking off in a big way at the time.
On the VladTV interview, Salley talked about asking Shaq for some money to help get the business going: “When I needed cash he (Shaq) said, ‘How much?’” Salley remembered. When DJ Vlad asked, how much Shaq lent Salley, he said, “Seventy.” (Meaning $70.000!) Salley said that later, when he had the money to repay O’Neal, the big man simply said, “nah nah we’re good.’”
In the years since, Salley’s business has blossomed (see what we did there?). The cannabis business is growing nicely, and it’s estimated Salley himself has a net wroth of about $15 million today.
In talking about his generosity, Shaq has always given credit to his mom. “I’m doing this because this is what I was taught to do by Dr. Lucille Amir, who happens to be my mother.” O’Neal made those comments to a local reporter in Atlanta after he paid the balance of an engagement ring for a man at a Zale’s store in Atlanta.
Yet another good story of Shaq’s philanthropy. Nice to see any time, but especially powerful at this time of year… the giving season.