NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal stepped into Santa's boots this Christmas by giving away thousands of presents to deserving children.
During an appearance on The Gary Vee Audio Experience podcast, the towering former basketball player revealed that he'd managed to hand out 1,000 PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch consoles as well as bikes from Walmart to underprivileged kids.
He told host Gary Vaynerchuck that making kids happy at Christmas was important to him because of his own upbringing.
"You know for me, coming from where I come from, my father was a drill sergeant, my mother just was a hard-working woman," said the 7 foot 1 inch NBA star.
"Didn't have a lot. But they taught me the value of giving back. They taught me the value of helping those in need," he added.
Shaq went on to talk about why giving kids presents at Christmas was particularly important to him.
"When I was with Toys 'R' Us, there was an alarming stat: 15 to 20 million kids wake up on Christmas Day and not receive one gift. I felt that one time. I don't ever want a kid to feel like that. So, as long as I'm on this Earth, I'm always trying to do what I can to make sure kids get good toys."
As for getting his hands on enough presents, the star said it was just a matter of calling in some favors from old friends.
"I call, you know, my friend from [Nintendo], got about 1,000 [Nintendo Switches] sitting there, got about 1,000 PS5s, I went to Walmart and got bikes," he said.
He added that putting a smile on kids' faces was what made it all worth it, saying:
"So, you know, yesterday, at this little elementary school in McDonough, Georgia, kids were crying, kids were happy, and that's what it's all about."
This isn't the first year Shaq has played Santa Claus. For years, the philanthropist has been giving away toys, gifts, and presents to children across the country as part of his annual Shaq-A-Clause event.
