Shaquille O'Neal gifted NBA legend $450,000 car for 25th birthday present after striking up special bond

Throughout a career as a basketball superstar, rapper, action movie star and tv analyst, Shaquille O'Neal has amassed an estimated net worth of $500 million. And "Big Diesel" is famously generous with his money.

The NBA icon's random acts of kindness down the years include paying for an engagement ring for a young person he was stood behind in a jewellery store queue, footing the funeral expenses of Dexter Rentz, a college football player who was killed in an Orlando shooting in 2020, and buying dinner and a new Mercedes-Benz for a young family of 11.

Shaq credits his late farther with inspiring his generosity, once citing a time his dad – an army veteran – gave food to a homeless former soldier.

"He gives the guy the food," O'Neal remembered. "He gets in the car and slams the door. He got a little tear in his eye and looks and said, ‘If you ever make it big time, make sure you help those in need.’ He just drive and didn’t say nothing the rest of the way home."

Shaq has responded to the allegations (Image: Getty)

And when the pair played together on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009, LeBron James found himself the beneficiary of O'Neal's giving spirit.

The 7ft 1ins big man and the future four-time MVP were only teammates for one season, but when James turned 25 midway through that campaign, O'Neal gifted him a Rolls Royce worth a staggering $450,000.

And Shaq's lavish birthday present is believed to have sparked an obsession with luxury cars that has seen the Los Angeles Lakers superstar accumulate a fleet worth millions of dollars that includes includes custom Lamborghinis, a Porche 911 turbo and a Porche 918 Spyder.

James recently celebrated his 40th birthday and is currently playing in his 22nd NBA season. The former Miami Heat forward has won four championships in his storied career and is the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

But his outrageous longevity is best illustrated by the fact that early this season he and his eldest child, Bronny James, became the first father-son duo to share a court in NBA history after the Lakers drafted James Jr last year.