One of the most dominant athletes in NBA history, Shaquille O’Neal had a stellar career, won four NBA titles, and had a significant impact on the game. O’Neal was one of the highest-paid NBA players in history with approximately $292 million in earnings.
With that kind of wealth, a man can easily and carelessly squander substantial sums of money. In the early morning hours at Walmart, Shaquille O’Neal carried out this exact action. Shaq appeared on James Corden’s Late Late Show and amusingly recalled how he blew a sizeable amount in one day at Walmart.
When Shaq was transferred from the Miami Heat to the Phoenix Suns in 2008, the event took place. The now-50-year-old basketball legend quickly became aware that his lodgings were inadequate upon landing in Arizona for the first time following a late-night flight.
Shaq spent $70,000 on five TVs, printers, laptops, appliances, linens, and even underwear when he went to Walmart at 3 in the morning. The issue is that his card was denied when he reached the checkout and then declined again.
“So, 2 or 3 in the morning, I got to go get four or five TVs. I’ve got to go get printers, I’ve got to go get laptops. I’ve got to go get appliances, sheets, towels, underwear, T-shirts. So, at the end, it was $70,000.” said Shaq.
“So, I put my credit card in. Got declined. And I put it back in, [it] said declined again. So now I’m saying, ‘I know I’m not broke. Then the American Express security called me [and said], ‘Hey, man. Somebody stole your credit card and they spent $70,000 at Walmart.”
We can all learn from Shaq’s Walmart buying binge even though there isn’t even a single lesson to be learned from it: the next time you feel guilty about your Walmart purchase, don’t feel guilty at all!
