Shaquille O'Neal dodged $183,000 spree, leaving Dwyane Wade & Udonis Haslem still stewing 17 years later

NBA legend and Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O'Neal, known for his generosity towards teammates, developed a special bond by sharing his blessings and at the same time inspiring them to do their best during his playing days.

However, there were instances that ‘Shaq’ failed to deliver on his promise of sharing. One involved former Miami Heat teammates Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem during their NBA championship conquest in 2006.

In a recent episode of Shaquille O’Neal’s The Big Podcast, Haslem shared a story about how the legendary big man promised to give them Bentleys if they won the championship that year.

But while they became champions, coming from 0-2 down in the finals and defeating the Dallas Mavericks in six games, 4-2, no Bentleys came for then-young players Wade and Haslem, something they jokingly said they are still waiting for 17 years later.

The recently retired Haslem shared:

“Remember what you told me and Dwyane, if we win, what you was going to do? … The man told me and Dwyane if we win our first championship, he said, ‘If we win this title, I’mma buy y’all Bentleys.”

He added:

“The man ain’t bought us Bentleys. We was motivated as hell, but what me and Dwyane did was go buy our own Bentleys…We believed, we was young, we ain’t know no damn better…”

Check out what he had to say below, beginning at 28:25:

To confirm the claim of Haslem, fellow podcast panelist Adam Lefkoe asked Wade on Instagram to verify it, to which the recent Hall-of-Famer responded:

“And we’re still waiting.”

Shaquille O’Neal tried to reason his way out of it, jokingly saying the Bentleys were sent to a different address, later straightening things out by saying it was a “misunderstanding.”

A 2006 Bentley would have cost the 15-time NBA All-Star at least $183,000.

The 2006 NBA title was the fourth and last for Shaquille O’Neal, who won three prior during his stay with the LA Lakers, and first for Wade and Haslem. The two would win two more together alongside LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2012 and 2013.

---

Shaquille O'Neal once paid for rookie teammate’s car down payment

While he did not deliver on his promise to Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem, Shaquille O’Neal, however, provided for others countless times.

Among those well-documented was when he once paid for Lakers rookie teammate Mark Madsen’s down payment for a Chevy Tahoe.

Author Jeff Pearlman described in an article for BasketballNews.com:

“‘He took me car shopping,’ Madsen recalled. ‘He literally said to me, I’m putting the down payment on whatever car you want.’ I told him I wouldn’t let him, but he negotiated a great deal for me on a Chevy Tahoe.’”

It was a gesture that up to this point, Madsen keeps reiterating that he appreciates Shaquille O’Neal for.