"Big brother with a huge bank account": Former Lakers champ recalls Shaquille O'Neal buying him six suits and even paying for his father's funeral
Only the most hardcore of NBA fans will remember Mike Penberthy. The former Los Angeles Lakers point guard spent two seasons in the NBA, playing in a total of 56 regular-season games and failing to make a postseason appearance.
That didn't stop Penberthy from creating memories that would last a lifetime, particularly with his friendship with legendary big man Shaquille O'Neal.
In Jeff Pearlman's book "Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty," Penberthy is quoted as likening O'Neal to a 'Big brother with a huge bank account.'
Penberthy's comments are based on multiple interactions he had with his former teammate. The most notable one that he shares is how O'Neal took him shopping for suits on his second day with the team.
"You don’t have any suits, do you?" O'Neal had asked Penberthy on his first day with the team.
The following day, O'Neal took Penberthy shopping, introducing him to his personal tailor and footing the bill for six new suits so that Penberthy could look the part when arriving at stadiums on game day.
Yet, O'Neal went above and beyond when Penberthy was working with the Lakers as an assistant coach.
"When my father died, Shaq offered to pay for the funeral," Penberthy said. "He's that type of guy."
Shaquille O'Neal has developed a reputation for being kind-hearted and generous with his wealth, as it would appear multiple former teammates would be willing to attest to.
Shaquille O'Neal once helped a random mother buy her kids laptops
The stories of Shaquille O'Neal's generosity are plentiful. However, one of the more heartwarming moments was when O'Neal was standing in line at a store and overheard a struggling mother trying to pay off some laptops for her children.
When speaking on the "Million Dollaz Worth of Game" podcast, O'Neal recalled the encounter.
"She owed like $1,100 and I heard her say, ‘Okay Imma bring $300 this week,'” O’Neal recalled. "And she grabbed one of her babies and said, ‘I’m gonna get the laptops in two weeks, baby.' He continued, “And I said, ‘I got you.’ She’s like, ‘You don’t have to do that.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, I do because my mama told me to do it.’”
"My motto lately has been: it could be worse, and that could be you. $1,500 ain’t nothing to me, but a mom trying to help her babies go to school. I’m standing right there. Do it.”
Shaquille O'Neal may have been a dominant and physically imposing force on the NBA court, but off the court, he appears to be one of the most kind-hearted individuals you could ever hope to meet.