During his career, Shaquille O’Neal made just one 3-point shot. Despite his dominance, Diesel always struggled with consistently making his shots. It seems he continues to harbor doubts, even about the shot-making of other hoopers. Shaq was spotted at a local court where he lost a $10,000 wager.
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The four-time NBA champion wagered against a local hooper named Nelly Swish, betting him $10,000 to make a corner three. Nonchalantly, the multi-millionaire put the cash on the floor and challenged the player to make his shot.
Not only did Nelly have to make the shot in front of Shaquille O’Neal, he stood to lose $10k if he missed. But the young hooper didn’t seem to sweat it at all. He casually stepped into the corner, taking one dribble before swishing the corner shot with ease.
Within the span of a few seconds, Shaq had lost $10,000. But he’s a man of the people so he did hold up his end of the bargain.
In his early playing days, O’Neal would often blow large sums of money while shopping or buying cars. But as he has grown as a player and person, the business mogul has frequently talked about financial literacy. It’s part of the reason his net worth has boomed to over $500 million post-retirement. But that doesn’t mean that Diesel can’t have a good time every now and again.
Though he doesn’t bet at the stakes that Michael Jordan might enjoy, Shaq has his own little gambles that keep him entertained. The 2000 NBA MVP shared that he’s a big fan of the Maury Povich show, where disgruntled parents take DNA tests to confirm their children’s paternity.
Not only was O’Neal glued to the screen when Maury came on, he would apparently watch it with his teammates and wager on the results of the episode’s paternity test. “Every morning at 10 A.M., we’d wake up with thousands of dollars and we’d watch The Maury Povich Show. And we’d make bets on who the father is,” Shaq said on the ‘Big Podcast’ earlier this year.
Shaq would watch The Maury Show and make thousand dollar bets on who the father is 💀 pic.twitter.com/Rq9Im8Z1Tx
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) August 15, 2024
Even on TNT’s Inside the NBA show, Shaq has pulled a few bets. Most recently, he guaranteed a 10-point win for Miami in Game 2 of their first round matchup against the Celtics. Charles Barkley was having none of it and the two quickly decided to bet whether O’Neal’s prediction would come true or not.
The game ended 111-101 in Miami’s favor and Shaquille O’Neal pulled out a stack of cash to taunt his TNT co-host. What’s more impressive is that the Heat wouldn’t win any other games in that series, losing the next three matchups by over 15 points. Shaq’s third eye was in full effect back then. It’s a shame that foresight has taken an off-season break because it would’ve saved him $10,000 at the local playground.
