In the world of professional sports, where millionaire contracts and cameras usually steal the spotlight, there are gestures that happen off-camera and reveal the true character of legends. Such is the case of Shaquille O’Neal, former NBA player and Hall of Famer, who always showed tremendous generosity—one that forever impacted the life of his teammate and friend John Salley.
Shaq and the quiet gesture that changed a life
During the 1999–2000 season, John Salley joined the Los Angeles Lakers as a veteran after winning championships as part of the ‘Bad Boys’ Detroit Pistons and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
His role wasn’t that of a star, but rather a mentor and a steadying presence in the locker room. On that team, the dominant force was ‘Shaq’, who, alongside Kobe Bryant, led the beginning of a historic three-peat.
In that context, while Salley was going through tough financial times, the superstar did something unexpected: he handed him $70,000 in cash, with no contract, no strings attached, and no intention of getting it back. He simply did it because his teammate needed it.
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Beyond the money: respect and brotherhood
“When I needed money, he asked me, ‘How much do you need?’ To this day, it’s $70,000,” Salley recalled. “I saw him again, and he said, ‘Nah, we’re good.’” The story, originally revealed by Sportskeeda, highlighted Shaq’s genuine humanity.
This act of generosity wasn’t a PR move or a media stunt. It was a private gesture, born out of respect between two men who shared a locker room at the twilight of their careers. Shaq, already a multimillionaire thanks to contracts and endorsement deals, understood what it meant to face a life change after leaving the court.
And although Salley never paid the money back, that support gave him the boost to rebuild his path.
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John Salley and His Business Success in the Cannabis Industry
Years after hanging up his sneakers, John Salley found a new passion in entrepreneurship. He entered the legal cannabis industry in the U.S., a market experiencing exponential growth and projected to reach a $40 billion valuation by 2030.
Salley founded ‘Deuces22’, a cannabis brand inspired by his daughter Tyla, and also became a partner at GreenSpace Labs, a company focused on cannabis safety and quality testing. This move not only allowed him to reinvent himself but also to become a trusted voice within the industry.
In Salley’s own words, that money Shaq gave him without expecting it back still holds meaning—not as a debt, but as a symbol. “Because the cannabis business is going really, really well for us. I keep it in my mind as an investor.”
