Shaquille O’Neal once spent so much at a Walmart, American Express thought his credit card was stolen.
In an interview with HBO Sports, O’Neal said he spent $70,000 in a Walmart in one night. He claimed the company confirmed to him that it was the biggest single purchase at a Walmart store in its history.
“True story,” O’Neal said, just to make sure we did not think he was making this up. “I get traded from Miami and I go to Phoenix. And I’m very impatient, so they’ve already got the apartment set up, but I ain’t got nothing. I ain’t got no towels. I ain’t got no pots and pans. I ain’t got no TVs… I’m Walmart’s biggest customer, and they know it.”
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O’Neal continued, “So I get to the cash register and it says ‘declined.’ I’m like, ‘Declined?’”
He wiped off the card and it was still declined.
The American Express security team called him up to tell him someone stole his card. “Somebody stole your credit card. They at Walmart,” they told him.
“I said, ‘No sir, that’s me.’ The guy goes, ‘What the f— are you buying?’ I said, ‘It’s me, sir.’ So, they turned it back on, got a couple of trucks and bam!”
As Yahoo! Sports points out, this story likely took place in February 2007, when the Miami Heat traded O’Neal to the Phoenix Suns.
The 46-year-old Shaq retired from the NBA in 2011 after winning six NBA Championships. He joined the NBA Hall of Fame in 2016 and is now a co-anchor on Inside The NBA. Since retiring, he has also become an entrepreneur and a commercial pitchman, which is the main subject of his new HBO Sports interview, beyond his Walmart buying habits.
“The Shaq brand is all about fun,” O’Neal said in the interview. “I want to be the guy that, for a brief moment of time, make you go, ‘Ha ha ha!’ Raise your endorphins, raise your cheekbones, and then I want to make people laugh… I’m in the fun business.”
Elsewhere in the interview, O’Neal said he is making more money as a pitchman than he did as a basketball player. You can see him in ads for Gold Bond, Carnival cruises, credit cards and even The General auto insurance. According to The Hustle, O’Neal also has investments in Google, Five Guys and 24 Hour Fitness gyms.
Photo credit: Instagram/ Shaquille O’Neal
