Former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal reportedly treated a whole restaurant to dinner the other night when he paid the tab of $25,000 at the eatery after making an appearance with a mystery woman.
The 50-year-old sports analyst and former professional basketball player reportedly arrived at the Chelsea hotspot Jue Lan Club in New York City with an unidentified woman, whom he was overheard describing as “my date,” sources told Page Six in a piece published Tuesday.
After the two had dinner, Shaq reportedly showed off his generous side, paying for dinner for the entire service team at the restaurant.
“And to top that off, he paid for everyone’s check [who was] dining at the restaurant,” the source shared.
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The outlet noted that O’Neal wanted to keep his treat to the 40 tables of patrons a secret until he had left the restaurant.
Sources said the bill amounted to “well over $25,000.” The source also told the outlet that Shaq was “extremely generous” to Jue Lan’s staff.
“He left them the biggest tip they’ve ever received,” the source added.
The sports analyst followed up his generosity the next day when he showed off a newly refurbished basketball court where a boys and girls club he used to be as a child in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, through the help of his foundation and corporate sponsor Icy Hot, Fox News noted. O’Neal initially renovated the court back in 1992.
“This court is for you guys,” Shaq told Fox5 New York. “You guys can just come out here and follow your dreams, and take it from me, you can be whatever you want to be. I’m you — I’m not the guy that was the smartest in school. I’m not the guy that was most popular. I’m you. We come from the same place.”
In February, the basketball legend surprised the Collins family of 11 with not one but two new cars, ESPN noted in a post on Instagram.
“Today Shaq blessed us like never before,” the Collins family captioned their post on social media. “Last night we had a surprise visit from Shaq. He took us to dinner as a family at babes chicken. It was so much fun to just hang out and eat dinner with him.”
The post noted how Shaq even foot the bill for another table’s meal before he ended up tipping the waitress “$1000 after her car broke down today.”
“And then today! He started the day off by taking us to the Mercedes dealership to get us a new family 15 passenger van,” the family’s post read.
The family later shared that when he saw the state of the husband’s truck, which has “been without air-conditioning and heat for a while,” the former NBA star “took us to a Ford dealership and blessed us with another truck.”