Turning 53 has gotten Shaquille O’Neal a brand new set of wheels. On the occasion of his birthday, Effortless Motors decided to surprise the big man in a grand fashion, which left him in tears.
Advertisement
Ahmad Abdelrahman, the CEO of Effortless Motors, has delivered several customized vehicles for Shaq. Impressed by their work, O’Neal often promotes the brand on his social media, including when they secured him an early release of the Tesla widebody Cybertruck.
For his birthday, the dealership went in a different direction and decided to gift him the 2025 Chevrolet Silverado, which they will customize for him. The $37,000 truck certainly meets Shaq’s criteria for massive, head-turning vehicles, but it elicited a unique reaction from Diesel.
Abdelrahman recorded his call with the 2000 NBA MVP and shared his hilarious response upon receiving the gift. “You done a lot for me all year, and this is the perfect day to return your favor,” he told O’Neal.
Even as he turned 53, Shaq remained his usual self, jokingly yelling “Why?!” as he fake cried on call. Ahmad, clearly familiar with the Big Aristotle’s game, played along and said, “Let it out.”
View this post on Instagram
Like O’Neal, we look forward to seeing Effortless Motors’ gift for the 15-time All-Star. It will be Shaq’s first freebie from the business, as he has strictly maintained a “nothing for free” policy with his friends at the dealership.
The unique origin of Shaq’s relationship with Effortless Motors
Effortless Motors was trending for the wrong reasons last year. The Riverside-based dealership initially made the news for setting up a new car for LeBron James. However, the four-time MVP soon revealed that he had never conducted business with them, publicly calling them out for falsely using his name.
As they say though, all’s well that ends well. The marketing stunt by Effortless Motors caught Diesel’s eye. Unaware that their video was a lie, O’Neal found himself enticed by the dealership that had allegedly hooked LeBron up with a Bugatti.
“My thing was, Bron is 6’9’’, 6’10’’, I know ‘cause he’s a friend of mine. If he can fit into this car, ’cause I thought it was his, if he can fit into this car and he don’t want it, I’mma call old boy up,” Shaq explained on an episode of ‘The Big Podcast. ‘
Even after learning that James’ Bugatti was simply part of a PR stunt, O’Neal continued his working relationship with Effortless Motors. What’s more, he ensured that he got no preferential treatment for being a celebrity. “I see a kid on the internet who’s just starting his business and I support him… He’s like, ‘I want to give you this free car,’ I’m like, ‘Bro, just be my friend, I don’t want nothing for free’,” the Hall of Famer added.
When Effortless Motors presented Shaq with his first Cybertruck, he was so impressed with the car and the deal that he got, that he ended up gifting one of his customized Hellcats to the dealership. “Since you gave me a great deal on the Cybertruck, Hellcat is yours,” O’Neal said. The Hellcat was part of a three-car series he had customised and spent a pretty penny on.
After the kind of relationship that Shaq and Ahmad have built over the past year, this gift sure would mean a lot to the Big Fella. It could also be another way that Effortless Motors is paying back Shaq for the $100,000 All-Star bet that they’d made.
