Shaquille O’Neal Pays Heavy Price After NY Knicks Forces Him to Be Sorry Twice

You thought it was done when Tyrese Haliburton got that overdue apology. Apparently, that’s not the case. Shaquille O’Neal is still hurting from the Knicks-Pacers series. Now we know why Shaq was so hard on the Pacers. He had some personal motivations behind the supporting the Knicks for the win, but that of course didn’t happen. And on the 4th of July weekend, O’Neal had to pay the cost of rooting against Indiana. Almost literally. Shaq’s little wager cost him a pretty chunk of a $1.3 million expense.

During the Eastern Conference Finals, the TNT analyst (for the final time) had a bet going on behind the scenes. The other person was a rapper, producer, and longtime friend of Peter Gunz. Over a month later, the details of this side quest have emerged.

In the video shared by Gunz on his official social media, Shaq is on a set (presumably of Gravesend which he’s still filming) where he reveals in his own words the details of his bet. “Believe it or not New York, I wanted New York Knicks to win. Peter Gunz said that they were not going to win. We had a bet. He gets the jet for a week. All expenses paid, wherever he wants to go. Footage for that will come real soon.”

Now this is ‘THE” Shaquille O’Neal himself talking. There was no backing out once he promised the jet. It was so serious to put his $27 million jet on the line, that even Gunz seemed to hesitate. He wrote in the caption, “I didn’t have a good feeling about the Knicks against the Pacers and it paid off the jet is mine for a week. Where do I go? Who do I bring? 2nd week of August!!” Although he claimed the jet for the second week of August, Gunz and Shaq seemingly saw the bet through.

In the same post, Gunz revealed a part of Shaq’s 4th of July plans. This time it didn’t seem to include one of the giant party animal’s signature bashes. Shaq was on the plane with Gunz and other buddies watching the 4th of July fireworks from the sky. As Shaq said, “All expenses paid,” he’s eating the fuel costs and more from Gunz’s flight. Which piles on the bitterness from the Knicks’ loss.

Knicks cause a dual setback to Shaquille O’Neal

If this is the Bombardier Challenger 650 with the Dunkman logo (Shaq has owned four jets in his lifetime) worth $27 million, the fuel costs for it are around $1,351,204 for 200 hours a year. That figure includes fuel ($517,668), crew ($307,542), and engine overhaul ($93,174). On the higher end, that figure could be $2,144,112 for 400 hours a year.

Considering O’Neal is going between Dallas, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Miami at the minimum, along with visiting Reebok HQ in Boston, his vacations in Canada, and his multiple DJ tours outside the continent, O’Neal is using those 200 hours and perhaps more.

Gunz gets to utilize a neat chunk of Shaq’s annual expenses. We don’t think he minds either. Charles Barkley confirmed that he saves a lot of time since Shaq loans his private jet services to him to fly between Arizona and Atlanta during the regular season. Coming through for his friends is not a big deal to this gentle giant. It’s the sting of losing.

If you watched Shaquille O’Neal throughout the Conference Finals this May, he was harder on the Pacers than he was cheering for the Knicks. Tyrese Haliburton came in clutch to send Game 1 into overtime which ended in the Pacers beating the Knicks 138-135. Yet Shaq scolded Haliburton for celebrating with his teammates and seemingly not focusing.

“I want him to be in killer mode all the time,” Shaq said before Game 2. Indiana again silenced O’Neal with a neat 114-109 in Game 2. O’Neal humbled himself after the game by saying, “Tyrese… I owe you an apology,” even surprising Haliburton.

Between Tyrese and Gunz, Shaq’s shown he knows when to take a loss on the chin. Even a multi-million dollar loss.