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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 09: NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal attends the grand opening of Shaquille’s At L.A. Live at LA Live on March 09, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 09: NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal attends the grand opening of Shaquille’s At L.A. Live at LA Live on March 09, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
With the kind of spending capacity Shaquille O’Neal has, he has no reason to look at the bill. As much as he used to terrorize the opposing player who had to guard him on the court, he’s also got a heart bigger than his 7’1″ stature. He’s gone out of his way to help out teammates and random strangers. And he’s done that once again, hitting his fans with the feels. It’s just another day for Shaq who stuck to his new shopping policy.
In his early rookie days, O’Neal had a teeny bit of a spending problem when the NBA paychecks were cashed in. The $400 million man is still a big spender, but more for other people as he did for one lucky fan recently.
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Shaquille O’Neal commits a kind act to help a stranger
Big Diesel should get a new nickname to match his big-hearted generosity. He doesn’t make it a habit to boast about his random acts of kindness but the latest one didn’t go unnoticed. It occurred at a chance encounter when the Los Angeles Lakers legend was in Louisiana, where he went to college. A local woman, Kquoella Lewis, was at a Lafayette Best Buy to buy an iPad.
While browsing options, she noticed a tall figure next to her. To her pleasant surprise, it was LSU star-turned-NBA legend, Shaquille O’Neal.

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BATON ROUGE, LA – SEPTEMBER 21: Former LSU Tiger Shaquille O’Neal waves to the crowd as he is introduced on the field during the game against the Auburn Tigers at Tiger Stadium on September 21, 2013 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
O’Neal was inquiring about the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Lewis revealed how trendy and enticing the phone is by expressing she wanted to get it too. O’Neal then turned to the store employee and said, “Get two, one for me and one for her.”
Lewis narrated the incident to the Lafayette news station, KLFY. While reveling in the encounter with Shaq and a new phone gifted by him, she revealed that the other Galaxy Flip was not even for O’Neal himself. But that’s just the Shaq policy.
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Shaq has a generous shopping policy
There’s many an NBA star who set personal philanthropic goals for themselves. Charles Barkley once said he makes it a point to donate at least $1 million a year. His NBA on TNT co-host has his own goal.
O’Neal said on TNT, “Whenever I go to the store from now on, I’m buying somebody else something,” in 2022. “Everyday I leave the house, I gotta help somebody. I can’t keep all this.”
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A year later, he’s staying on that policy to “do something positive.” Lewis revealed to the news outlet that though O’Neal purchased two Galaxy Flips, the second one wasn’t even for himself. He’s an iPhone man. No word on who the new phone was meant for.
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