Luxury Crazed Shaquille O’Neal Garbaged $25 Million Due to Kobe Bryant

Published 12/22/2022, 1:10 PM EST

Shaquille O’Neal and his days in Miami were full of stories that signified great administration. The seven-foot giant was fresh off the Los Angeles Lakers squad, where he wasn’t wanted anymore. Shaq realized that he needed to bounce back and prove his worth to ex-teammates like Kobe Bryant. A legendary coach, Pat Riley, came to Shaq’s aid and asked him to sacrifice a huge chunk of money, to be able to win the championship.

Shaq was filled with rage against the Lakers and their players since his exit, and he wanted to prove something to the NBA world. The Big Aristotle’s hunt for another Championship ring led him to forego $25 Million, something that was worth the price.

Shaquille O’Neal forego $25 Million to win another NBA title

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Shaq’s beef with Bryant didn’t end with him exiting the Lakers. The two had such strong personalities that they wanted to prove to each other their worth. Although the Black Mamba ended up having more championships than Shaq, the seven-foot giant did his best to keep up with the 5-time NBA Champion.

Back in 2005, Shaquille O’Neal was supposed to sign a new contract with the Miami Heat, and a five-year one at the least. With new coach Pat Riley at the helm, the legendary coach decided to be straight to Shaq, which the basketball giant appreciated. In the fourth episode of the Shaq documentary, the seven-foot giant spilled the truth.

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“Pat Riley was the only smart one to talk business with me.” said Shaq. He further added, “He said, ‘Shaq, I love you. I can give you $125 Million for 4, but you won’t have no players. Or I can give you 100 for 5.’ I was like, my guys, Dwyane, Alonzo, Udonis, James Posey, Antoine Walker, Gary and Jason. Nah man, I gotta win before the young fella [Kobe Bryant] wins.”

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The Lakers legend was a huge name in basketball by the time he was a Heat player. Understandably, he was used to certain luxuries that came with being an NBA regular. However, Big Diesel decided to forego $25 Million in order to win a championship before the Black Mamba. Eventually succeeding in doing so, only because Shaq truly understood that winning championships required sacrifice.

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Written by:

Shankha Shuvra Das is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Economics and has extensive experience in freelance content creation, especially in the field of technology. Shankha's passion for covering the sport of basketball stems from his love for the NBA, which he has been following closely for several years now.

Edited by:

Jayant Chhabra

Luxury Crazed Shaquille O’Neal Garbaged $25 Million Due to Kobe Bryant

Shaquille O’Neal forego $25 Million to win another NBA title

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