Devean George was recently a guest on the Forgotten Seasons Podcast. The three-time NBA Champion went into all things Lakers and basketball. George was selected by the Lakers as the No.23 pick in the 1999 draft. George would primarily play as a backup small forward on the team, as the Lakers would win three chips in his first three seasons in the NBA.
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The Minnesota native was drafted into a tense environment, as both Kobe and Shaq were all about ‘winning’ and ‘ winning now’. Even though playing for the Shaq-Kobe Lakers did come with a lot of baggage, it sure did come with its perks. While on the Podcast, George would go on to talk about the perks of playing for the 2000 Lakers,
“Shaq was like Santa Clause. So for rookies, we don’t get paid until like November 15th….so he[ Shaq] takes care of the young guys. We get on the plane, and he hit you with a ward of $10,000 bills. Or, he will have you go do something. He had me go buy headphones. He gave me like $3000, and headphones for like $300.”
For someone like Shaq, $3000 was like a drop of water in the ocean, as O’Neal had big money coming in. Just the year prior, O’Neal had signed a whopping 4 years/ 120 Million contract with the Lakers. Not only that, Shaq even had a sneaker deal with Reebok, resulting in the Big Fella selling over 400 million pairs of sneakers. That said, for him to actively spend money like that on his younger guys is indicative of the person he has always been – one with a heart that is far bigger than even his 7’1″ stature.
Additionally, it wasn’t just headphones and wads of cash that O’Neal handed out to his rookies, as he even managed to get Devean George a Mercedes-Benz on one occasion. That’s right, during the Forgotten Seasons Podcast, George would recall how Shaq once helped him get a Benz, even though the waiting list for the car was several months long.
Shaquille O’Neal bought ‘Mad Dog’ his first luxury car
Mark Madsen, or ‘Mad Dog’ as many like to call him, was an integral part of the Lakers’ three-peat. Madsen joined the Lakers back in 2001 and would play into the 2002-03 season. Unlike most rich and successful basketball players, Madsen wasn’t too interested in partying and buying expensive stuff. In fact, he preferred to focus on basketball and religion, as Madsen was a practicing Mormon. But being a Laker comes with its own set of distractions.
Fortunately for Madsen, O’Neal would take the young power forward under his wing from the start. Shaq didn’t want anyone negatively influencing Madsen, as he described Madsen to be ” The purest guy in the NBA.”
During a 2022 interview, Shaq revealed that even though he didn’t want Madsen hanging around with the ‘spoilt’ NBA players, he still wanted Mansen to have nice stuff. Talking about the same to Kristine Leahy on the show Fair Game, O’Neal said,
“I wanted to protect him but still wanted to make him cool, part of the guys…Then we’re all in Ferraris, Mercedes, Lexus, Lamborghinis, so I took Mark to the dealership… Everybody had a truck, so I said we’re gonna get him a Suburban or a Tahoe because I wanted him to be a part of the team, but not really. He’s the purest guy I have ever met in the NBA.”
Madsen would even confirm the story during an interview a few years ago. The former Lakers power forward would have a relatively underwhelming career as he averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in his 3 seasons. However, his hustle and heart were often the silent heroes of one of the greatest teams of all time.
