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Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant players in NBA history, but like many athletes, he had to learn some hard lessons early on, especially about pressure, money, and perspective. One of those lessons came straight from his stepfather, Phillip Harrison, after a tough game during Shaq’s rookie season.
Shaq’s Stepdad Gives Him A Reality Check
After a rough night on the court against the New York Knicks, the young Orlando Magic star admitted he let the pressure get to him. His stepfather, a former Army drill sergeant, wasn’t having it. Harrison told Shaq to come home immediately: “Be here tomorrow at 0500 a.m.,” Shaq recalled in an interview last year. They drove in silence until they stopped beneath a bridge.
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There, they sat quietly for over an hour, watching a homeless family-a man, a woman, and two children-wake up in a tent. Then Harrison turned to Shaq and asked about the game. “I said, ‘Man, I don’t know. I let the pressure get to me,'” Shaq recalled telling him. His stepfather responded sharply, showing him the homeless family: “That’s pressure. Pressure is when you don’t know when your next meal is coming from.”
Harrison didn’t stop there. He told him, “I’m tired of you spoiled, rich athletes making all this money who don’t perform at the level that you’re supposed to perform to, blaming it on pressure.”
The moment stuck with Shaq. He got out of the car, spoke to the homeless man, and learned that he had lost his job and was trying to take care of his family. Shaq called a friend, paid $36,000 for a three-bedroom apartment for the family, and even helped the man land a job. Two years later, that man was running a lawn service business and cutting Shaq’s grass in Orlando, Florida.
“Pressure to me is when you don’t know where your next meal is coming from,” Shaq told TV host Jimmy Fallon. “So I don’t really believe in the word ‘pressure’ anymore.”
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Why So Many NBA Players Go Broke
Shaq has also opened up about the financial struggles athletes often face after retirement. He says it comes down to habits built during peak earning years. “Sometimes you just get so much money that you forget,” he said. “I always tell them, ‘Don’t think about what’s going on now, think about what has to go on in the future.'”
He explained how players often spend the full amount of their contract year by year. “If you got a five-year deal worth $100 million and make $20 million per year, you spend 20 in the first year and be like, ‘You know what? I got another 20 coming.’ That’s how guys are thinking.”
The result? Around 60% of NBA players go bankrupt within 10 years of retirement. Shaq blames the problem on reckless spending, unwise investments, and getting steered in the wrong direction. He says every athlete should be taught how to manage their money and plan for the future while they’re still earning big.
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