Shaquille O’Neal‘s father taught him a lesson when he decided to go pro a year early. “We’ve been broke for 17 years; we can be broke for 18 years.” These were the words of Sergeant Phillip Harrison as he advised Shaq not to go pro.

Even mother Lucille didn’t want him to go pro at the time he went. As Shaq couldn’t even balance a checkbook back in the day, her mom said, “Baby, listen. You can do what you want to do, but you’re not ready,” trying to make the 7’1″ tall legend realize that money was never the end goal.

JC Penney and Shaquille O’Neal recently partnered to offer a unique back-to-school shopping experience for 20 students from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas.

The students received $500 gift cards and an hour of shopping with Shaq for their back-to-school needs, from apparel to shoes, haircuts, eye exams, and more.

The event was organized at Town East Mall in Mesquite. Shaq spoke to the WFAA YouTube channel about it.

“I’m from Texas and this is how I was raised by Sergeant Phillip Harrison and Doctor Lucille O’Neal,” said Shaq. “As much as you guys trying to give me all the credit, it’s really uh JC Penney,” he added.

Shaq revealed that he had purchased a new property in Rockwall and while he was there, he wanted to take the opportunity to do something special for the kids.

“While I’m here in town, I just bought a new house in Rockwall. So while I’m here in town, we just wanted to come and say hi to some kids and just give them, give them a good shopping spree.”

The property at a market value of $1.7 million, was his second investment in North Texas. He already purchased a house in Collin County back in 2022.

Shaquille O’Neal feels people need to give back to the community because there’s always somebody in need. Shaunie, Shaq’s ex-wife, wrote in her memoir that the Lakers legend was raised by a single mother, for several years, until his stepfather came into their life.

Even Shaq himself has talked about the influence of his stepdad on his life several times previously.

Shaquille O’Neal on role of parents

When asked about his role in creating an impact by helping others, Shaq said, “Well, I just do the same thing. My parents did.” He further explained how his father would ask them to take their extra clothes to the Salvation Army and give them there. Whenever he got hurt, he would visit the other children and patients in the hospital to make them feel better.

O’Neal previously revealed whenever Sgt, his stepdad, saw homeless people on the street, he would give away the food in the car and get emotional after that. “He gives the guy food, 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.’”

Shaq continues to keep up the good work of charity through his foundation. Recently his Foundation received 4.81 acres of land from Clark County.