How A Salesman Accidentally Convinced Shaquille O'Neal To Buy 3 Ridiculously Expensive Cars

Shaquille O'Neal doesn't do small or understated. The 7-foot-1 four-time NBA champion has an instantly recognizable brand. Oh, he's worth around $500 million, too. Naturally, as with many other well-to-do star athletes, he has a penchant for flashy cars. Problem is, he seldom fits in them without some contortions and modification. It's what drove him to have a Lamborghini lengthened into a Franken-Gallardo. That stretched supercar isn't the only time Shaq did some silly stuff with expensive cars.

In what was almost certainly a prideful purchase, O'Neal bought three outrageously expensive cars on the spot. Why? All it took was one condescending question from a less-than-respectful Rolls-Royce dealership salesman, and Shaq bought the lot. Just like that, the champ and business mogul had three extra opulent cars he says "I never drive."

Don't believe it? One of them, a 2004 Rolls-Royce Phantom, just sold on Bring-a-Trailer. If that wasn't enough, the once-undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson, may have had a hand in nudging the Diesel to buy three ultraluxe cars instead of a solitary sedan. Of course, it's not difficult to get carried away when shopping for Rolls-Royces; just look at the one-off Phantom inspired by "Goldfinger."

Some 30 years ago, Shaquille O'Neal signed a groundbreaking $120 million deal to don Los Angeles Lakers colors and put away his Orlando Magic jersey. Several years later, he wandered into a Rolls-Royce showroom with his friend Alex and started browsing the hand-built grandeur. 

Now, O'Neal had money to spare, but he wasn't quite up for indiscriminate spending. "I like to spend money, but I don't like to waste money. So I don't want to spend $400,000 for a car," O'Neal recalled in a Revolt interview. He went about asking a salesperson about the prices of the showroom's many Roll-Royces. That's when the salesperson said the wrong thing. Or the right thing, considering the commission on three hilariously expensive cars.

In O'Neal's book, "Shaq Uncut: My Story,"  he recalls the question as especially disrespectful, be it accidental or deliberate. The salesperson gave the Lakers sweatpants-clad O'Neal a glance and, per Basketball Network, asked, "Are you sure you can afford it, sonny boy?" That did it. Shaq lost it. "I said, 'What the f*** did you just say to me?'" So, he pointed around the showroom. "I want that silver hardtop one, and I want the green one, and give that red one over there, too."

One of those cars, the silver hardtop O'Neal selected, was a 2004 Rolls-Royce Phantom. That car sold in November 2026 on Bring-a-Trailer for $62,000. Not exactly the $320,000 or so O'Neal likely paid for it when it was new in 2004. Although he was shopping in a Rolls-Royce dealer, Shaq's book mentions a handful of Bentleys as part of the splurge. Whichever British luxury marque made O'Neal's list of picks, it was quite the spendy visit to a dealership.

Shaq's financial flexing and what is likely the most impressive commission that Rolls-Royce salesperson has ever made makes for a pretty crazy story. Believe it or not, it gets even more wild from there. According to O'Neal's book, "Iron" Mike himself, Mike Tyson, was in the mood for Bentley shopping just as the Laker found himself at the dealership.

Shaq recalled seeing Tyson picking out a couple of Bentleys and the need to out-do the champion pugilist. "Next thing I know Tyson picked out two. He's buying two of these cars, so you know what I've got to do. I've got to buy three!" Though it's not clear what ratio of Rolls-Royce to Bentleys made up his impulse shopping spree.

Be it Iron Mike or the mouthy salesperson who drove Shaq to pull the trigger, the outlandishly expensive price tag for the purchase hit him after. "A million dollars gone in 10 minutes," the massive athlete once lamented in an interview with Vanity Fair. Frankly, that's not the only time O'Neal has had the rotten luck with luxury cars. After spending the money to have it customized to fit his considerable frame, his Lucid Air Coupe ended up in a salvage yard less than two years later. Bummer.