Former Laker Shaquille O’Neal, who is known for being a generous man, once brought snow to LA on a kid’s Christmas wishes.
Shaquille O’Neal was a mean bully when he played in the NBA. He was ruthless and fearsome. Yet, off-the-court, O’Neal is far kinder than he is mean on it.
He is as generous as they come. Especially around children, Shaq’s kindness knows bound. The reason is perhaps his own childhood. Growing up, things were difficult in the O’Neal household. There were times when Shaq would not even receive a Christmas gift.
So, now that he is worth $400 million, the 7’1″ center tries to fulfill the dreams of other children who live less privileged lives. Christmas has become a tradition of gifting joy to hundreds of kids for Shaq. But how far can he really go when it comes to fulfilling the wishes of these kids?
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In his book Shaq Uncut, O’Neal writes of a time when he made it snow in LA. The story starts with Shaquille O’Neal visiting a community center in Watts. Now O’Neal was a frequent visitor of this particular community center.
Dressed as Santa. Shaq-a-Claus visited to talk to underserved children who found a haven at the center, which was away from drugs and crime. O’Neal took the opportunity to discuss the kids’ Christmas wishes and what presents they wanted.
Mostly, they were your usual demands, computers and bikes and toys, However, one kid made an unprecedented wish that left Shaq in a bind.
The kid told O’Neal that he had never seen snow. He also revealed that his mother had confessed that they would never be able to leave LA. But somehow Shaq-a-Claus found a way around this unorthodox wish.
So O’Neal filled up three dump trucks with snow and turned the community center’s parking lot into a snow world. The kids came to it like flies to a lit bulb. Interestingly, the entire snow was imported from the Bear Mountain
We all know how difficult it is to get your hands on a PS5 console at the moment. Not to Shaq though. Shaq is, after all, one of the most popular athletes in the entire world with a net worth worthy of a king.
So for him, getting his hands on a few hundred PS5s is not a big deal. But even for him, a thousand consoles is not a small number. And, as a matter of fact, he also gave away a thousand Nintendo Switches on top of the latest play stations.
While appearing on Garyvee’s podcast, Shaquille O’Neal claimed:
“My father was a drill sergeant, my mother just was a hard-working woman. They had little, but they taught me the value of giving back. They taught me the value of helping those in need. I called you to know, my friend from Nintendo Switch. Ordered about 1000 Switches and 1000 PS5s. I went to Walmart and got bikes. So you know yesterday, at this little elementary school in McDonough Georgia, kids were crying, kids were happy. And that’s what it’s all about.”
Shaq-a-claus delivered new Shaq shoes to all the good little girls and boys this year 🙌 Thanks again to my friends at Zappos for Good for making it happen #PoweredByZappos pic.twitter.com/rB5Lrucku2
Only if the entire world was as kind as O’Neal. Do you think Shaquille O’Neal deserves even more praise for his acts of kindness?
Also read: John Wall, Who Signed a $13 Million Deal With the Clippers, Dropped 20 on his Debut
A die-hard Los Angeles Lakers fan. I believe Kyrie Irving is a magician and that the Nets can possibly win the championship this season.
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Copyright: © THESPORTSRUSH. All rights reserved.