Shaquille O’Neal jokingly tries to convince Dana White to make $1 million bet on Bulls

Shaquille O’Neal jokingly tries to convince Dana White to make $1 million bet on Bulls originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Shaquille O’Neal has a questionable plan to earn a quick $100 million this upcoming NBA season.

The Hall of Fame center wants to place a $1 million bet on the Chicago Bulls to win the NBA Finals. But on his podcast, “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” he tried to convince UFC owner Dana White to join him in the venture.

“If we bet $1 million on the Chicago Bulls, who have the worst odds ever, [and they] win it, we win $100 million. … I want that f—— $100 million! I want the Chicago Bulls,” O’Neal joked.

“Shaq, that’s f—— crazy,” White responded. “How about you put up $500 (thousand) and I put up $500 (thousand) and we play f—— Baccarat and we actually f—— win?”

O’Neal wasn’t receptive to that strategy, either. The big man prefers to play craps, as he explained on the show. O’Neal asked White, too, if we would put up $250,000 with him and two other people to get the million. White denied that, too.

According to Fanatics Sportsbook, the Bulls’ odds to win the NBA Finals in 2024-25 are set at +50,000. So, if O’Neal and White followed through on betting on the Bulls to win the Finals, they would profit $500 million, five times more than O’Neal’s $100 million projection.

But, unfortunately, the Bulls’ youth movement will likely prevent them from winning that far into next season’s NBA playoffs. The Bulls recently sent DeMar DeRozan to the Kings via sign-and-trade. Andre Drummond also left in free agency to sign with the 76ers.

Retooling their roster, the Bulls traded Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey (21), drafted Matas Buzelis (19), signed big man Jalen Smith (24) and re-signed Patrick Williams (22) to pair with Coby White (24), Ayo Dosunmu (24), Julian Phillips (20) and Dalen Terry (22).

The youth movement and retooling are evident. It’s a roster refresh, meaning the Bulls likely won’t be a competitive team next season.

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