Shaquille O’Neal Fakes Being Heated At His $150,000 Escalade IQ’s Custom Paint Job

Shaquille O’Neal might be one of the scariest and most dominant NBA players of all time. That said, The Diesel is also a dedicated jokester. The Hall of Famer proved this himself after releasing a new video on his Instagram. He pulled a prank on his friends over at  Effortless Motors about his newest $150,000 purchase.

One thing that is known about Shaq is his affinity for collecting cars. The 53-year-old has more than 40 vehicles in his garage. That now includes three Escalade IQs as the NBA legend just purchased a new one from Effortless Motors, whom he constantly hits up for custom jobs.

The Big Diesel had already purchased and customized two Cadillac Escalade IQ trucks using Effortless Motors. This time around, he wanted a special grey color for his $150,000 car. But what Effortless wasn’t prepared for was Shaq pretending to hate the color of the new Escalade that was delivered to his house. When the car was dropped off, a friend of The Diesel told the company that the big man wasn’t going to like that color.

This was then confirmed by Shaq himself. “That’s the wrong color, bro,” said O’Neal, after looking at the car for the first time. This left the car dealer worried, who tried to remind Shaq this is what he asked for, and even shared how he had to custom-make the shade.

O’Neal, being the prankster he is, took the gig a step further and even took a magnifying glass out to prove that it was a shade too light.

 

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The Effortless guy vastly apologized to Shaq, and told him he would take it back and “re-wrap” the entire thing himself. As he began to drive away, the Shaq-Fu Master Facetimed him and revealed that he loved it.

“Ha ha. Gotcha. Bring it back, I love it,” he said with a smile.

This is a prime example of why Shaq has been on television for so long. His knowledge of the game is unmatched, but his need to entertain at times outweighs that. For better or for worse, Shaq knows how to get a laugh.

The third Escalade IQ purchase just shows how the Big Diesel goes all-in when he likes something. After having purchased three Cybertrucks over the last year, Shaq talked about why he’s over Elon Musk’s truck, and his newest obsession is the $150,000 truck from Cadillac.

Shaq once bought 3 Rolls-Royce cars just to prove a point

If you think you are an avid collector, you haven’t met Shaq. His love for vehicles cannot be stressed enough. The Hall of Famer once purchased 3 Rolls-Royce cars just to prove a point.

The Diesel revealed during an old press conference that he went into a Rolls-Royce shop to look around. When one of the dealers asked him, “Can you afford any of these cars?” Shaq lost it. “Now I’m pissed,” he admitted. 

So the big man bought three of them, worth $400,000, right on the spot and had them delivered to his house. Shaq might be a jokester, but do not press him because he will show you the slam dunking glass-breaking side.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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