Shaq Got Denied for His Dream House — Here’s the Financial Lesson He Never Forgot

The number of times I’ve interviewed Shaquille O’Neal is almost as big as his shoe size (22), and there’s a moment in every single sitdown where it hits me: this man refuses to stop learning. The 15-time NBA All-Star, four-time champion and first-ballot Hall of Famer built a second career — DJ Diesel, Emmy-winning NBA analyst, restaurateur, brand partner, producer — not by coasting on fame, but by going back to school every time he felt outgunned in a room. Now he’s added “Credit Professor” to the résumé, fronting the Credit One Bank Credit Tip Off Tour to teach college students what nobody ever taught him: how credit actually works.

Dan Bova: Every time we talk, education comes up — your education, other people’s education. Where does this passion for teaching and learning come from?
Shaquille O’Neal: When I speak on certain situations, I like people to know and understand that I know what I’m talking about. When I first came in, and I’m doing all these deals, and people would come in the office and say, “Hey, Shaq, how you doing? How’s the kids? Everybody good?” Then they would turn to my representative and say, “We wanna do a four-year deal with Shaq,” and they would never look at me. I was like, okay, you guys just look at me as an athlete. So let me go get my Master of Business Administration, so I know and understand everything you’re talking about. I know what EBITDA is. I know what capital gains tax is. I know all the stuff. So now you talk to me, and I’ll talk to my representative.

I’m back in school right now ’cause I love to learn. I’m working on a degree in criminology. In my town, I am the Chief of Community Relations in Henry County, Georgia. Everybody knows I’ve been in law enforcement for 20 years, but now having that degree in criminology, when I speak, I want a little bit more respect.

How does that play into this college tour?
I’m stepping up to the stage as the Credit Professor for Credit One Bank Credit Tip-Off. We’re gonna be hitting four campuses — SMU, Georgia State, Fred’s Bar in Baton Rouge, and Florida Atlantic — and we’re just gonna talk about credit education, play some games, listen to some music. We’re gonna get into real questions about credit, what messes people up. We’re gonna be handing out some credit tips on what to avoid. And I’m not doing it alone — I got a couple of influencers with me, Jenna Bandy, Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia, and James Dumoulin. As a youngster, nobody sat me down and explained credit and why a good credit score matters. When I was young, I learned the hard way.

How so?
The first time I even heard the word credit score was when I was trying to buy my house. I go into a place to buy a house and they started asking me all these questions, and the lady was like, “Well, we can’t approve you because of your credit score.” I was like, “Lady, I just signed a $50 million contract.” So I had to find out what a credit score was. And I realized that I had a whole bunch of credit cards when I was at LSU, and I just canceled them. But nobody told me that canceling your old credit cards, even ones you’re not using, is gonna shorten your credit history and could hurt your score. I also had to learn that missing a payment can sit on your credit report for up to seven years. I never knew these things. I had so much cash, I was like, “I’ll pay it later. I got a game tomorrow. I’ll pay it when I pay it.” Nobody told me these things. 

College students also make money with side hustles. Here are five that we want you to blind force rank. First one: mall cop.
I’m gonna go four.

Next one: Uber driver.
I’m gonna go three.

Kids’ birthday party performer.
Oh, five. Not interested in that.

Collectible sneaker flipper.
Two. 

The last spot, number one — and you did this to yourself — Charles Barkley’s personal chef.
Oh, number one. It’s easy. You know why? Cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Cheetos, and a Diet Coke, ’cause he’s on a diet.