New on Sports Illustrated: Shaq Buys Laptop for Shopper Who Offered Condolences for Deaths of His Sister and Kobe Bryant

-

A man at Best Buy offered his sympathies to Shaquille O’Neal after the deaths of his sister and Kobe Bryant. Shaq told him he’d cover his purchase.

A man shopping at a Georgia Best Buy got quite the surprise when he ran into Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, and Shaq made the moment even more unforgettable. 

Patrick Martin says he was at the Best Buy in McDonough, Ga., south of Atlanta, looking to buy a laptop on Wednesday when he spotted Shaq. Martin offered his sympathies to NBA legend for the recent death of Kobe Bryant and O’Neal’s sister, Ayesha Harrison-Jex,

who died in October after a battle with cancer. 

Moved by the gesture, Shaq told Martin the laptop was on him. Martin wrote in a Facebook post that O’Neal told him to “get the nicest one in here and I'll pay for it.”

That sort of random act of kindness is nothing new for Shaq. He’s purchased musical equipment for a fan in a Guitar Center, shoes for a teenager with size 18 feet and a house for a 12-year-old paralyzed in a shooting. He’s also gone on shopping sprees for himself, though, claiming that his $70,000 Walmart trip to furnish his apartment after being traded to the Suns is the biggest single purchase in the store’s history. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New on Sports Illustrated: The Patriots’ Post-Brady Era Begins Now

-
Image
In Mac Jones, Bill Belichick drafted a Round 1 quarterback for the first time ever—and looks to usher in a return to dominance. Of course the first time Bill Belichick drafts a first-round quarterback, it’s one for whom he could get an unvarnished scouting report from good buddy Nick Saban —and without even having to do any draft-day maneuvering. Now, the post-Tom Brady era in New England really begins. The Patriots treated 2020 as something of a gap year, with a league-high eight opt-outs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a starting quarterback, Cam Newton, who didn't sign with the team until June. They were, for the first time in two decades, mediocre, but that 7–9 record bought them the ticket to a fresh start: the No. 15 pick, which they used Thursday night on Alabama QB Mac Jones. The oft-cited statistic that Belichick had never drafted a QB higher than pick No. 62—used on Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014—was inherently flawed, given that Belichick had Brady as a starter for 19 of
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 80 Prospect Rankings

-
Image
Ranking the top 80 players in the 2021 NBA draft with the NCAA tournament in the rearview. View the original article to see embedded media. With three months until draft night and the NBA’s regular season winding down , the league at large has begun shifting full focus to the off-season. Players have until May 30 to declare as early entrants for the draft, after which point the predraft process will open up in full, leading up to the combine and lottery at the end of June . Our Big Board is long overdue for an update, and fully expanded out to 80 prospects as we all attempt to make sense of the big picture moving forward. As usual, the Big Board is primarily based on my personal evaluations from both live viewings and on film, in many cases dating back several years. The rankings also incorporate feedback and opinions I glean from NBA executives, scouts, and others around the industry. This is not a mock draft, and team fit is not considered, but it is also intended to be somewhat
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: NCAA Board of Governors Unanimously Votes to Extend Mark Emmert’s Contract

-
Despite recent controversy, the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to extend Mark Emmert's contract through 2025. The NCAA Board of Governors unanimously voted to extend president Mark Emmert's contract through Dec. 31, 2025. The news was announced Tuesday as a one-line news item buried within a larger update after the board's quarterly meeting. He's the fifth president in NCAA history and has been in the role since 2010. Emmert previously held high-ranking roles at Washington, LSU, Connecticut and Montana State. His base salary is reportedly $2.7 million.  Within the announcement, the Board reaffirmed its commitment to updating name, image and likeness rules. Dellenger: Inside the Hidden Industry of Name, Image and Likeness and the Changing World for College Athletes Emmert came under fire after disparities were shown between the men's and women's college basketball tournaments this year, specifically the weight room. Prior to the public backlash,
Read more