Shaquille O’Neal spent how much at a Phoenix Walmart?
Mar 29, 2018, 6:00 PM
When the Phoenix Suns acquired All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal in a blockbuster trade with the Miami Heat, it sent Suns fans into a frenzy.
The Suns traded for the Big Cactus in February of 2008, sending Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Heat in return.
It’s hard to imagine how difficult it would be to move across the country during an NBA season, but O’Neal had no other choice.
In need of furniture and other necessities to get settled fast, he decided to visit a Phoenix Walmart.
“I get traded from Miami and I go to Phoenix. And I’m very impatient,” O’Neal said in an interview with Real Sports on HBO. “They’ve already got the apartment set up, and I ain’t got nothin’. I ain’t got no towels. I ain’t got no pots and pans. I ain’t got no TVs.”
In need of furniture and other necessities to get settled fast, he decided to visit a Phoenix Walmart.
But it wasn’t an ordinary trip.
“I have the highest purchase in Walmart history,” he said. “The CEO will confirm that. I spent about $70,000 at Walmart in one night. I spent so much, American Express thought my credit card was stolen. True story.”
It’s hard to imagine just how many bags O’Neal walked out of the store with after a purchase of that caliber, but he did say that he piled all of his items into “a couple trucks.”
It turns out that O’Neal is, ironically, one of the store’s biggest customers. From clothing to dishes and even furniture, he admitted to furnishing his home with items he purchased at Walmart.
The 7-foot-1 center averaged 15.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over the course of two seasons with the Suns, providing fans with many memorable moments.
From his dance performance with the Jabbawockeez dance crew during the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, to the time he completely cleared the Suns’ bench when he went after a loose ball, O’Neal’s $70,000 trip to Walmart is yet another addition to his legacy.
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