Shaquille O'Neal treats couple to washing machine and television

Shaquille O'Neal treated a couple to washing machine and a television.

The basketball legend was browsing a branch of Best Buy in Dallas because "he just loves seeing new things in the tech world," when he talked to a young family who were looking to buy a new appliance.

The 50-year-old star decided to brighten up their day by not only footing the bill for the washing machine but also splurged on a 70-inch television for them.

Asked about his generosity, he told the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column: "I just want to make people happy."

Over the weekend, the NBA analyst announced he will donate the proceeds from a DJ set in Buffalo to the victims of a shooting there in May.

And it was recently reported he picked up the bill for an entire restaurant.

Shaquille visited Jue Lan Club in Chelsea last month and forked out to pay for every diner's meal, but asked staff not to mention to the customers at over 40 tables until he had left.

Meanwhile, the sporting icon recently revealed he was warned he "could die" without medical treatment after he was diagnosed with sleep apnoea - a condition where sufferers stop breathing when they're asleep and can lead to stroke or hypertension - and as a result he now needs to use a CPAP machine and an oxygen mask to assist him at night times for the rest of his life.

He said: "So when I went back to the doctor there was some stuff I never even knew.

"They give you those certain words: "Hey man, you got sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea can cause hypertension or strokes, you could die."

"I said, 'What?' 'You could die.' So now I've got to sleep with a sleep machine.

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"I had to really get checked out. When they hit you with that three-letter word that starts with D and ends with E, it changes stuff up."

The sporting legend was "dependent" on painkillers but ordered to stop taking prescription medication as it has taken a toll on his organs.

He said: "[The doctor said] 'All those painkillers you were taking, bro? Your kidneys are kind of weak. No more painkillers.'

"I was dependent upon painkillers - not addicted.

"Certain days when I couldn't move, I just popped one or two, just to get me going. But I'm off that now."