With millions coming in through their league salaries, NBA players tend to break the bank now and then. Not to mention the endorsement deals with brands that tend to pay many players more than their actual paycheck. Being labeled the most dominant center in NBA history, Shaquille O’Neal was no different. Big deals and even bigger paychecks coming in, this is how Shaquille O’Neal’s accountant ended up impressing his mother Lucile.
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In Shaq Uncut, the four-time NBA champion shared a small snippet of his mother being involved in his finances. Both Shaquille O’Neal and his mother Lucile were looking for a new accountant to handle Shaq’s books with absolute transparency.
“We talked to a lot of people with their fancy brochures and their big plans, but none of them hit me right.”
The two had interviewed multiple candidates but could not find the perfect fit. That is when Lester Knispel walked in and left a lasting impression. Knispel’s approach to talking about the benefits instead of printing them on his brochure stood out to Shaquille O’Neal.
“This little guy with curly hair and glasses walks in. We tell him to put his brochure over on the desk with the rest of the pile and he says, ‘I don’t have a brochure.’”
In all the interviews conducted, the Los Angeles Lakers legend noticed a pattern of the candidates not willing to have his mother keep a tab. Instead, these candidates assured her that they were experienced individuals, and hence, knew what they were doing.
“They all said, “Mrs. Harrison, trust us. We do this for a living. Let us take care of it. You don’t have to worry or bother with it. It’s our job.” Now if you tell that to Lucille you might mean well, but all she’s hearing is “Butt out, Mom.” And that’s not going to work.”
This is where Lester Knispel took a different approach, gaining the immediate attention of Shaquille O’Neal and his mother Lucile as well. Knispel had no problems letting Shaq’s mother keep an eye on the books. In fact, he insisted that she could have a look whenever she wanted.
“Lester was smarter than that. He told my mother, “You can see the books anytime you want.”
An accountant who wasn’t afraid of his work being double-checked was something Shaq had not seen during any of his interviews. This ended up creating a sense of trust in O’Neal and after a point, even his mother Lucile had enough faith in Knispel to not indulge herself anymore.
“After a while, my mother would learn to trust him and wouldn’t want to be bothered with poring over my stuff. And that is exactly what happened.”
While many may wonder if Shaq’s mother was being too cautious, there are far too many cases of accountants running off with NBA players’ money. So, it is a very good thing that Lucille had such high standards for the accountant her son would keep. And clearly, it paid some serious dividends as well.
Shaquille O’Neal earned his mother’s trust through wise decisions
The journey to find an honest accountant who was a perfect fit was not a simple one. Shaquille O’Neal had to interview numerous candidates. This process eventually got so tedious that his mother had to step in and help him as well. But at the start of his tedious journey, Shaq had a sit-down with Hollywood actor Wayne Rogers. Rogers was a familiar face in American households as he appeared in MASH, a sitcom that ran for 11 seasons.
Despite having a Hollywood actor as his accountant, Shaq did not make any haste decisions and eventually decided that it would not work with Rogers. Another reason for O’Neal’s rejection was due to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s book. An excerpt from The Captain’s book stated, “If something appears too good to be true, then it probably is.”
This statement ended up being one of the rules or guidelines Shaquille O’Neal led his life with from that moment on. And it sure paid off as Shaq’s net worth now stands at over $400 million, all due to smart investments and savvy business decisions.
