For Shaquille O’Neal, every day is a new chance to make someone smile.
That’s exactly what the former NBA superstar did when he surprised a man in McDonough by paying for the engagement ring he was planning to buy!
Chaz Cherry, Shaq’s friend and Zales employee, captured the unexpected moment on video.
“He told me his budget and picked out two rings that were within that budget. The only problem was that the sale to keep it at that price range ended that day and the next day the price was gonna jump back up to a little over his budget,” Chaz recalled.
The customer went outside to make a phone call, and that’s when Shaq walked around the corner from a restaurant and entered the store.
When the man came back, he asked the staff if he could put a down-payment on the ring and hold it for him at that sale price.
Shaq heard his request and asked him how much the ring cost. Then, he handed the cashier his card and said, “don’t worry about it I’ll take care of it.”
In a recent edition of NBA on TNT, Shaq, 49, explained the story behind the gesture, which has now gone viral.
“I’m into making people happy so when ever I leave the house, I try to do a good deed every day. It was a young guy trying to pay for his engagement ring on layaway. I said, ‘you know what….tell your girlfriend I got and I’ll take care of it,” Shaq explained.
“At first he didn’t want to take it. I said don’t worry about it. I do it all the time. I’m just trying to make people smile. That’s all.”
Shaq and the unnamed man took a photo together inside the store, and the picture began circulating online. He told a store employee that he plans to pop the question in May.
Here’s a video of that incredible moment.
