Shaquille O’Neal.Photo: Rich Fury/Getty
Shaquille O’Neal’s generosity continues.
TheNBAlegend made a man’s day this week when he whipped out his card for an engagement ring the customer was purchasing at a Zales store, where O’Neal happens tohave his own jewelry collection.
“I seen a guy come in — he was just so shy and he was saying, ‘Hey, how much do I owe to pay off my ring?’ " O’Neal said during Wednesday’sNBA on TNTof the unforgettable moment.
“And I was like, ‘How much is the ring?’ " the athlete recalled of what he said before stepping in and generously paying off the jewelry.
“I always get off 30 minutes before you come in here,” the cashier good-naturedly tells O’Neal about his own excitement over seeing the basketball icon in person.
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On Wednesday’s episode ofNBA on TNT, O’Neal humbly insisted the gesture wasn’t something new and, in fact, was similar to acts of kindness he strives to perform “every day.”
“The other day, me and my mom went furniture shopping, and this lady, she had [a daughter with autism] and she was looking to pay for some furniture. I just took care of her,” he said. “Whenever I leave the house, I just try to do a good deed.”
“I didn’t mean for [the ring story] to get out, ‘cause I don’t do it for that,” he continued. “I’m just trying to make people smile, that’s all.”
O’Neal has a documented history of helping those less financially fortunate — like in 2019, whenhe provided a new home forthe family of a 12-year-old boy who was paralyzed in an Atlanta shooting.
In January 2020, following the then-recent deaths ofKobe Bryantand, previously, O’Neal’s sister, O’Neal interacted with a fan named Patrick Martin at a Best Buy store in McDonough, Georgia, where Martin’s words to the athlete seemed to make quite an impact.
source: people.com
