Fandom is something that isn’t easy to define or quantify. Stories of fans doing absurd things and going to ridiculous extents to complete their fan fantasies are not uncommon.
Advertisement
NBA superstars aren’t immune to such treatment from fans either. And, the bigger the star, the more ridiculous the stories.
What if we told you that there was someone so crazed in his fandom that he was willing to part ways with $150,000 to spend around fifteen minutes with an NBA superstar? Well, Shaquille O’Neal was the beneficiary of such treatment, as one of the biggest stars in the league at the time.
As admitted by Shaq himself on Shaq Uncut, a “filthy rich” businessman who was involved in making hair products, spent $150,000 on a Rolex as a gift to spend a quarter of an hour with Shaq. Superstar treatment really was royal.
The former Lakers superstar, however, decided not to keep the Rolex though. After the initial excitement, Shaq was done with the expensive gift he had received, at which point it was passed on as a gift to a less-fortunate cousin of his.
Also read: Before Losing $500,000 on a Lamborghini, Shaquille O’Neal Splurged $60,000 on a ‘Rust Bucket’
Shaquille O’Neal had received the Rolex after naming it as the price for meeting him.
The crazed fan didn’t come up with the idea for the Rolex on his own. Through renowned financial guru Lester Knispel, the fan request had reached Shaq along with the caveat – what would it take to arrange a meeting?
O’Neal’s response? “I’ve always thought those diamond Rolex watches were cool”. And in an NBA superstar’s world, apparently, you name it and you get it.
“The guy buys me a $150,000 Rolex watch for shaking his hand and spending fifteen minutes with him. I put on the watch and I’m looking mighty fine, and I’m quite pleased with myself” revealed O’Neal of how he “earned” the $150,000 Rolex.
However, it was just a whim for Superman. After spending fifteen minutes of his time with the superfan, O’Neal was content with his new Rolex for a while. But then, just like that, he wasn’t.
“A few months later I see Lester again and I’m not wearing the watch. He asks where it is. I tell him I gave it to my cousin. He goes nuts over that. “After all that trouble!” he said, throwing his hands up in the air. I put my arm on his shoulder and tell him, “Lester, I wanted that watch because as a kid I never had anything like that. I didn’t even have shoes to wear half the time. So I wanted it. But once I got it, the thrill was over. It didn’t mean anything to me. So now my cousin has it and he’s showing it off to everybody, and someone will probably steal it from him because he’s bragging so much about it” described Shaq of the thought process that went into giving his Rolex away to his cousin.
Shaquille O’Neal found the watch appealing initially because he didn’t have such riches growing up.
Today, O’Neal is worth around $400 million and is one of the richest athletes of all time. But when he was new to the bright lights, such wasn’t the case.
It isn’t surprising at all that Shaq’s interest in the $150,000 Rolex ran out as quickly as it piqued. The world of a multi-millionaire athlete is certainly difficult to comprehend.
If there’s someone who benefitted from this deal apart from the rich fan who got to spend time with his idol, it certainly was O’Neal’s cousin. One hopes the watch wasn’t stolen from him like Shaq prophecized, however.
