After the presidential elections wrapped, a supposed connection between Shaquille O’Neal and president-elect, Donald Trump was quick to surface. Shaq is usually private about his political opinions, unlike his old friend, Charles Barkley. So, many fans questioned the authenticity of a story going viral this month. Shaq reportedly gifted Donald Trump a Rolls-Royce once. This is actually true.

Perhaps because of satirical pieces about Shaq supposedly kicking out Joy Behar or a political personality of his restaurant (they were all proven false, including by Big Chicken CEO Josh Halpern, Shaq even set the record straight with Joy Behar) that fans are wary about believing this one. It is indeed true that O’Neal gifted Trump a car worth $325,000. There’s a misconception about when. His gift had nothing to do with Trump’s presidential runs.

On January 25, 2005, Donald Trump married for the third time in Palm Beach. His bride, Melania Knauss, would become the First Lady in 2016 and will again be FLOTUS once Trump is sworn in next year. In 2005, Shaquille O’Neal was back in Florida after a three-peat in Los Angeles. This time, he was playing with the Miami Heat.

En route to his fourth championship, he attended Trump’s wedding to Melania with Shaunie, who he was still married to then. In Shaq’s larger-than-life fashion, he didn’t pick a wedding gift off the registry.

“Phantom Rolls-Royce, a white one,” O’Neal told the media. “It’ll be parked at my house when he wants to use it.” While it’s true he gifted the Trumps a car, it’s vague if the car left Shaq’s property or was used by them.

Shaquille O’Neal’s connection to Donald Trump

20 years ago, Donald Trump and Melania Knauss threw a lavish wedding at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-By-the-Sea, followed by the reception in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate’s ballroom. Trump’s inauguration for a second term will be held on January 20, 2025, 5 days before their milestone wedding anniversary.

Shaq and Shaunie, who married in a private mid-season ceremony in 2002, were among the 400 guests at the wedding, as per Herald Tribune. He disclosed his lavish wedding gift to them after the festivities. “It was fun,” was all Shaq described it as. But also added, “There was a lot of people there. I shook a lot of hands and got a lot of endorsement deals done yesterday.”

O’Neal and Trump went back a decade at least before that. Trump was an occasional attendee at Big Diesel’s games. A then-engaged Donald and Melania were also at a Heat home game in the 2005 season. A long time ago, Shaq even confirmed he sought real estate advice from the former realty mogul.

Shaq doesn’t publicize his affiliation with Trump much anymore. He keeps his political opinions private most often and refuses to make a public endorsement. The most he gets involved in is promoting local officials as he did during the DA race in Atlanta and sheriff elections in certain Florida cities.