When you look at Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neill and LeBron James, you see three of the very best basketball players ever to put on a uniform. Each is a legend in their own right as to what they have offered their teams during their heyday. James is still in his heyday so we don’t even know what he can still accomplish. We all know that Jordan led his Bulls to three consecutive World Championships on two different occasions. If he didn’t take a year off for to play baseball he just might have led them to seven championships in a row. Now that’s something to think about. Shaq had his time as well and there is no denying that he played a major role in the championship teams that he was part of. He won four titles, including three in a row in Los Angeles with the Lakers.
When you leave the court however, if you were to take a trip into the garages of each of these extremely rich men, you’d see they are just as competitive with their car collections. They like the best that money can buy and they have plenty of money to spend. That’s a combination that has led to each of them building their very own impressive car collection. Today we will take a look at some of the top choices in each collection and tell you a little bit about the car, how they got them and maybe a little backstory of things you might not have known about. The cars you are about to see are beyond hot, so prepare yourself before continuing on!
29. SHAQ’S VAYDOR
Shaq’s Vaydor is by far one of the sweetest rides you will ever see. It’s a two seater that was made for the basketball legend by Supercraft Custom Crafted Cars. The Master Coachbuilder on the job, Amitcar Juarbe, teamed up with his son Melvin to help design this one of a kind vehicle.
Everything in the car was custom made for Shaq’s enormous size. His seven foot one inch body that is held up by a size twenty-two shoes needs a tad bit more room than the average driver does. The pedals are a bit larger to better fit under his feet and the controls have been adjusted to make his driving experience the best that it can be.
The color scheme is strong while not being too over the top. The grey paint is a perfect paint job above the black rims and gives the vehicle a very intimidating look.
Shaq almost didn’t get one of these babies but his persistence paid off. Matt Mcentegart says he never called Shaq back when he inquired about the car. "I wasn't returning calls because I never thought we could fit him in the car." Now when he gets in the custom design, as a normal sixed man, he says, “I feel little.”
28. SHAQ’S FORD F-650 PICKUP
If you think that you have seen the biggest and baddest truck there is, you are wrong. That is, unless you have already seen Shaq’s monster Ford F-650 pickup. It’s no secret that he is a fan of the superhero Superman, and if Superman drove a truck this is the one he would want. It is absolutely the superhero of pickup trucks.
The truck stands at seven foot five inches so it’s only four inches taller than its owner, which makes them both very intimidating! When he drove off of the lot at Wade Ford in Smyrna, Georgia he sent out a thank you tweet to the company that said “FORD FOR MAKING TRUCKS FOR BIG GUYS.”
It wasn’t an easy make though as Ford had to call in for hell help from a local company called Supertruck. They convert Ford trucks into luxury and custom fit vehicles. They even made a six door stretch pickup one time for the carmaker.
In this version that is parked in Shaq’s garage, it has stainless steel gas tanks, a high quality super suspension, all leather interior, and was put together at a cost of right around $110,000. It’s powered by a 6.7 liter Power stroke diesel V8 engine. It’s big but don’t think that it can’t move!
27. SHAQ’S CADILLAC ESCALADE SUPERMAN
Shaquille O’Neil is a monster in the world of the National Basketball Association in more ways than one. The size of his body is certainly one reason, but the size of his accomplishments on the court is another, major reason. In 2000 he was voted the NBA’s MVP and he was part of four NBA Championship squads.
All of that success led to some very big playing contracts and he has used the money to build a very nice car collection. The collection he has put together is about as wild as his appearances at the free throw line during his playing career.
He owns a Lamborghini, A few Mercedes, a couple of Caddys, a very nice Jeep Wrangler, this beautiful Escalade, a really awesome van, a Lincoln Navigator and a smart car. The smart car is an interesting choice for a man who stands more than seven feet tall.
When you have the money that Shaq does you can made different kinds of requests to car makers. One of the things that Shaq always asks for is to have the Superman logo on his vehicles. Sometimes they are in plain sight and other times they are hidden nicely on a vehicle. Here you can see it prominently displayed right on the front grill!
26. SHAQ’S LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO
When you have a lot of money you want the finest cars in the world. That’s just something that is as natural as peanut butter and jelly. Money and fine cars just go together. But when you are a giant of a man like Shaq you will run into problems because most cars of that stature have a very tight driving area that makes even the most normal sized man uncomfortable. So when Shaq ordered his Lamborghini Gallardo he couldn’t just drive one off of the showroom floor.
Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters was called in to extend the car to fit Shaq while keeping its beautiful appearance. When all was said and done they had extended the car twelve inches to accommodate its gigantic owner. They used extended doors, roof and side windows to get the needed length.
George Gaffoglio, the CEO of the company said it was a special project. “We relied on our aerospace and coachworks divisions to make sure Shaq could fit in the car, but the naked eye could not detect any differences from the original Gallardo.” As you can see they did a fantastic job and it looks perfectly normal. Well, as normal as it can with Shaq standing next to it!
25. SHAQ’S MERCEDES-BENZ S-CLASS
One of the cars in Shaq’s garage is this beautiful Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Shaq dropped around $250,000 for the right to call this one his own and as you can see, it was well worth the money. The car is so awesome that it was featured on GQ’s Most Expensivest Sh*t, when 2 Chainz took a closer look at the ride.
One of the things that make this particular model so special is that it is the only S Class convertible that has suicide doors. Shaq drops a lot of cash on cars but he spends much more responsibly than he did when he was twenty years old.
One day he spent nearly a million dollars in about an hour. He told Business Insider that “It was me being overly happy-slash-irresponsible. My agent called me and said, ‘Hey, you've got a million dollars.’ But I didn't subtract his 15%, right? I didn't subtract the Texas state tax or the FICA. So, in my mind, I was just trying to do the simple math. I always wanted a fancy Mercedes-Benz. I used to go to the 7-Eleven and get the fake Mercedes, the little ones and just drive them, you know, on top of my bed and — I'm gonna get one of these one day.” He got his car and a few other nice items and the money was gone before he knew it!
24. SHAQ’S CADILLAC DTS
When Shaq was playing for the Miami Heat he hooked up with West Coast Customs again because he wanted a nice new Cadillac but he couldn’t just go out and by a normal one. The final result was this gorgeous Candy Apple Burgundy colored 2006 Cadillac DTS. The entire car is customized for Shaq’s size from top to bottom but you can’t tell that from the outside looking in. He won plenty of games while playing in Miami and when you can drive to the arena in a beauty like this, you must be able to go out onto the court with a very high level of confidence!
Shaq told Business Insider once about the time he bought himself a new car and then realized he needed more. “So, once I knew I got that million dollars, I went to the bank like a big-time guy and set up a little checking account. And I said ‘Okay, I've got a million dollars. Here you go, sir. I'll be back.’ So, I went to the Mercedes dealership. The guy says $150,000. I write him a check, give it to him. So now, in my head, a million minus $150,000, I've still got $850,000 left, right? So, I get home. My father says ‘That's nice. Where's mine at?’ Go buy the same car for my father. I'm good. I've got $700,000 left. And then came back home. My mother said, ‘I want the smaller version, which cost $100,000, so in my mind, I've got $600,000.” He didn’t take into consideration taxes and fees but that’s not a bad problem to have now is it?
23. SHAQ’S JEEP WRANGLER
Who doesn’t love a good Jeep? There aren’t many people around who wouldn’t love to have one in their driveway. And that’s just a normal one, not the one that Shaq has. EVERYONE wants the Jeep Wrangler that Shaq has! It was another West Coast Customs job for the basketball legend and they completely redesigned it so he could fit inside comfortably. They didn’t have to make any adjustments to the frame so it’s kind of hard to see any type of difference from the outside.
They used a Wrangler Unlimited chassis that was able to stretch more than twenty inches longer than the regular one that comes with a two-door Jeep. What was originally a four door vehicle here was turned into a two-door, with two much longer doors than normal. This took up the same amount of space as the original four doors did.
Shaq has teamed up with West Coast Customs for several of his cars because it’s the rare occasion that he can purchase a regular car and just drive away. His giant frame makes that very hard to do. On this vehicle WCC gave it Oracle accent lighting, off-road lights by Rigid Industries and a Magnaflow exhaust.
22. SHAQ’S 2002 FORD EXPEDITION
If you see this coming down the street you may not know who is inside but you’ll definitely know that whoever it is, they have a lot of money. Even from the outside you can tell that this is one expensive ride. The 2002 Ford Expedition is one of Shaq’s most tricked out rides. Do you want to know what it’s got in it? Of course you do!
Shaq teamed up with Ken Grant to make this beauty and it’s got a supercharged 5.4 Triton, a Borla exhaust, the entire interior is covered with fine Italian leather, and it has a sunroof. That probably comes in handy when Shaq stops at a stop light and wants to reach up and stretch his arms.
Overall there were only 500 of these special editions made and Shaq was given the 34th one, in honor of his jersey number while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Of the 500 made only 99 were supercharged and they were sold through select Ford dealers across the country for a MSRP of $57,000.
Shaq’s version probably ran him a lot more than that because of all the extra custom work that was done but that’s ok, he can afford it.
21. SHAQ’S 2003 HUMMER H2
Shaq’s 2003 Hummer H2 is a sight to see. It comes with twenty-six inch Asanti wheels that are custom made. Each spoke has a Superman logo engraved onto it. That alone makes this vehicle a must see but things don’t stop there.
Kumho tires get it to the gas station where Shaq will open up a beautiful Superman logo fuel tank cover. Oh, and for the tunes inside there is a nice eighteen-inch subwoofer. You want to talk about pounding out the bass? Wow!
Shaq has a nicely put together car collection but in his younger days he spent money as fast as it came in. He told Business Insider that he got some good advice from a bank manager once. After one particular spending spree the bank manager called him into his office. He said, "I've been following you two or three years. Love your career. You're probably gonna be a fabulous player and make a lot of money. But, you know a lot of you guys, when you're done playing, don't have anything. I don't want you to be like that. I want you to take a look at this." Shaq said that he “was like 50, $60,000 in the hole. So, I was just writing checks. I was buying TVs. I was just buying stuff I didn't even need. So after that, I said, ‘You know what? I need to get me a business manager.’” Smart move!
20. SHAQ’S 2001 CHEVROLET G1500 VAN
He doesn’t have this one anymore but at one time Shaq owned this awesome 2001 Chevy G1500 fully customized van. It’s not hard to tell that when this pic was taken that it was Shaq’s. If the Superman logo on the front grill doesn’t give it away than the customized front license plate should do the trick for you.
It has Superman logos all over it, a beautiful authentic Louis Vuitton interior, has twenty-inch wheels and costs through town on a very nice air ride suspension. For those not driving it has a 100x100 HD projector and yes, it comes complete with an Xbox.
Someone resold it after buying it from Shaq for $45,000. That seems like a very good price and I’m sure it didn’t stay on the market for very long at that value. Take a look at this stunning van and tell me that you don’t want to take a ride in it! Hell, the XBOX and the giant screen in the back alone are good enough reasons for me to climb in! It doesn’t look like it would be very good on gas though so you’d better make sure you’ve got the money for a fill up.
19. LEBRON’S CHEVROLET IMPALA CONVERTIBLE
If you have ever played Grand Theft Auto 5 you’ll recognize this car. You can buy one just like it and tool around Los Santos in it, impressing all of your friends. The main difference between that one though, and LeBron’s is obviously, he pair real money for his. His collection is filled with plenty of classic cars and as you can see here, he looks right at home behind the wheel of one.
He purchased this one around 2010 and when you see it coming you know for sure who it is. It has a custom made sub-encrusted trunk and the look is absolutely breathtaking. You have to wonder how fast it will go when the pedal is floored but you certainly don’t want to tear over any pot holes. Look how low the back is. A pot hole that’s big enough would rip the trunk right off!
Do you remember the old TV show from the 80s called CHiPs? If you do, then you remember that Erik Estrada had one of these and it looked just as sharp as this one does. Frank Poncherello was always chasing down the women after work and when he was driving this beauty, not many turned him away.
18. LEBRON’S PORSCHE 911 TURBO S
Lebron James is known around the NBA as “King James.” There is good reason for that as he has won multiple NBA Championships over his career. He has led both the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers to titles and the Heat won back to back World Championships thanks to LeBron’s leadership. Many experts say that he is better than Michael Jordan ever was but that’s an argument for another day.
Known as “King James” on the court for what he has accomplished on the hardwood floor, LeBron could be called the same nickname for the vehicles he drives around town once the game is over.
This Porsche 911 Turbo S is a must have in any car collection that is to be taken seriously. You can see that he is a perfect fit for the awesome car. You might say “Fit for a King.”
This baby has 550 horses under the hood so if he is ever running late for an appointment or pre game shoot around, he has the power to make up the time needed to get back on schedule. If he were to pull into the arena parking lot at full speed in this thing you can bet that more than a couple of heads would turn his way!
17. LEBRON’S MAYBACH S600
When you receive paychecks as big as the ones that LeBron collects on a regular basis, you can afford the best of the best of just about anything you want. This Mercedes-Maybach S600 is a perfect example of that.
Take a look at some of the features that come with this car and you will be extremely impressed. It has heated 12-way power seats with memory, multicolored and multi-zoned LED ambient lighting, multi-contour front seats that offer a massage, a fragrance system inside of the car, and power executive rear seating with memory. Yes you read that other one properly; it has an interior fragrance system. That could come in handy in countless situations.
A few other features that come with this beast are the easily adjustable rear-seat head restraints, exclusive NAPPA leather inside, silver handcrafted champagne flutes and you can’t forget about the refrigerator that’s in the back. This car is better than some people’s homes!
Now you a few of the reasons that this car is one of the best ever made. I mean come on now, who wouldn’t want a car with heated seats, a fragrance system and a fridge in the back? Sign me up for one!
16. LEBRON’S FERRARI F430 SPIDER
The Ferrari F430 Spider is one spectacular car. That’s exactly why “King James” has one in his driveway. It’s not top of the line in comparison to other Ferrari’s but make no mistake about it; it’s still a Ferrari. Some people in the car world say that this vehicle is far inferior to other cars, including some versions of the Cadillac, but we just don’t think that’s true at all. A Ferrari is a Ferrari and that’s all there is to it.
It has a V8 pushing it across the highways in Cleveland and if James needs to get in front of an oncoming snow plow when entering I-480, this thing can get up to sixty miles per hour in a cool 3.5 seconds. It really shouldn’t be out on the road in bad weather though. Who would do that to this awesome car?
If you are a fan of cars that sound like they are the meanest around, this is the one for you. When the gas pedal is pushed and the motor is revved up, you can hear each and every one of the 480 horses that are under the hood. And they can be heard a couple of blocks away. Everyone knows when LeBron is coming when he is driving this one!
15. LEBRON’S FERRARI 458 SPIDER
Whenever you hear the term “The need for speed” you immediately think of the Ferrari 458 Spider. It has everything you could possibly want from a vehicle. The color, the speed, the precision that it is put together with and the driving experience are all one of a kind. You can see that James is a perfect fit in his version of the car.
Lots of athletes are given free cars to give plugs to dealerships and certain makes of cars. James is no different and he was given a K900 Kia Sedan for absolutely free when he went back to Cleveland.
Unfortunately for whoever gave him that car, it pales in comparison to the 458 and will more than likely take a second place (or even third or fourth) when LeBron has to go to make a public appearance.
It runs right around $233,000 and comes with 570 horsepower to get you to wherever you need to be in a hurry. It can also hit sixty miles an hour from a standstill in 3.7 seconds. Now you know why he owns one! The only question remaining is why don’t you own one yet? It’s nice to dream isn’t it?
14. LEBRON’S DODGE CHALLENGER SRT
Not all of the cars in LeBron’s garage are top of the line totally expensive rides. Here you have normally priced Dodge Challenger SRT that ran him about $44,000 back in 2009. Now, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a very nice vehicle, because it is. If you’ve ever seen one of these on the street you know just how sharp it looks. If you have ever heard one totally opened up, you also know the power that this this thing has in it.
LeBron is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan and this car shows off their colors with the silver body and dark blue racing stripes. Before Tony Romo retired he would have loved it if “King James” would have picked him up at the twenty yard line in this beauty and delivered him to the end zone. That was about the only way that Tony would have been able to get there consistently.
There isn’t a man in America who wouldn’t want to have this in their driveway and since LeBron could afford it on one game’s salary, he made sure that it is part of his impressive collection. When you take a close look at it you can’t blame him for doing so.
13. LEBRON’S MERCEDES-BENZ S63 AMG
Do you have $140,000 to blow on something that you don’t need? Well, just in case you do, you can grab one of these beautiful Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG like LeBron James did. Of course, the money comes a bit easier to him than it does and you and I, but it’s still a car that we would all love to have. “King James” got his in 2010 and this beauty certainly stands out among the rest of his gorgeous vehicles.
It pumps out more than 577 horsepower and it is a lot more roomy inside that it looks. It has to be when it’s toting a 6-foot-8 inch basketball legend around Cleveland. It has been reported that LeBron loves this car so much that he sold his Kia K900 that he was given for free, to make room in his collection for this one. He still gets paid to talk about the Kia K900 but don’t look for it in his garage anymore. This beauty is now in its spot.
LeBron buys and sells cars quite often, as do a lot of collectors. The amount of money involved in those transactions makes every single one of us jealous. Maybe one day right?
12. LEBRON’S HUMMER H2
This beast is still one of LeBron’s favorites and it is by far the most controversial piece in his collection. When he was 18 years old he was on the verge of becoming a very rich young man. However, he hadn’t reached that point quite yet. So when his mom gave him this awesome $50,000 Hummer for his birthday, a lot of people took notice.
That’s because they didn’t have the money for such a purchase and lived in public housing. That’s not a place where you see a lot of Hummers, or people buying them.
Immediately lots of people cried foul and an investigation was launched to see if something improper had taken place that put his amateur status in jeopardy. It turned out that everything was ok and done quite legally. The bank agreed that LeBron had a lot of money coming so they gave his mom the loan to make the purchase.
Obviously with the amount of money he has made since that point in his life, he could have paid the loan back a hundred times over. You know that when the bank looked into it they saw that it was probably the safest loan they ever gave out.
11. LEBRON’S LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR
If you are ever lucky enough to see a Lamborghini Aventador in person, what you will see is one of the finest cars ever put together by man. When you see the version that LeBron James owns you will be completely blown away.
To make LeBron’s version, Lou La Vie, Toys for Boys Miami and Rich B. Caliente all got together to make a very unique edition of an already ultra-exclusive vehicle. The rendition was made to coincide with the creation of “LeBron 11” and the King James Legacy. It’s what you see in the “King’s Pride” Nike commercial that celebrated the LeBron XI sneaker.
This was all done in 2014 and Nike gave the ok for the car to be done. The final cost was a whopping $670,000. It contains a 6.5-liter V12 engine so you can only imagine what this thing can do on the open road. If you are ever driving down around the highways of Miami and see a mobile jungle fly past you in a complete blur, you can relax, it’s only “King James” on his way to some kind of public appearance!
Isn’t it great when the top minds in the world get together to make something that is already ultra-exclusive, all that much more exclusive?
10. MICHAEL’S MERCEDES-BENZ SLR MCLAREN 722 EDITION
According to many basketball experts Michael Jordan is the Bret “The Hitman” Hart of the NBA. They say he is the best there, the best there ever was, and the best there ever will be. Now it’s an argument that will continue on for decades but nobody can call into question what he accomplished on the hardwood floor.
As far as cars go, the legend also ranks up among the best of them. This Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 is a prime example of that. The regular edition of the car comes with 617 horsepower but Michael’s version, the 722, pumps out 650 of them.
This baby will also hit 60 miles an hour from a standing position in just 3.6 seconds so Michael never has to worry about that heavy traffic in Charlotte. Overall it can reach a top speed of 209 miles per hour.
For those of you who like random facts… the name of this car came from the Mille Miglia race back in 1955. Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson drove the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR to victory, after starting the race at 7:22am. Lots of things have been named after very odd things and this is just another example of that.
9. MICHAEL’S ASTON MARTIN DB7 VOLANTE
Here is another beauty that Michael Jordan owns. As you can see by this stunning Aston Martin DB7 Volante that MJ prefers nothing but the best be parked inside of his garage.
The vehicle was a special order job for the former basketball star because of its Rannoch Red paint color. During the custom work they also put in a Parchment interior for Michael. The beast blasts out 420 horses in a V12 that contains 400 lb-ft of torque.
He picked this one up back in 2001 when he decided for a second time to return to the NBA from retirement. This time though, he was with the Washington Wizards and not the Bulls. He was looking for something different because he was playing for a different squad, and the DB7 fit the bill just fine.
The car itself came out in 1996 and was probably the sole reason the company kept its doors open. Things were looking bleak when this baby was released to the public and everything changed from that point forward.
When you Three-peat as World Champion on two different occasions, only the best will do. With this car Michael Jordan indeed got one of the best.
8. MICHAEL’S MERCEDES-BENZ SL 55 AMG
When you have a Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG and you consider it your third or fourth best car, you know that you have a car collection for the ages. Here you can see Michael “slumming” in his AMG on his way to an important appointment.
A car salesman’s son once told a story about how Michael bought seven brand new cars in the same day, shortly after leaving the University of North Carolina. “Michael’s daddy came into the car lot one day with his wife and Michael and the grandmother and a brother and a sister—there were seven people there in all. Michael’s father knew my father well, because he had sold him cars over the years. He said, ‘Mr. Lewis’—that’s what he called him—’this is my son Michael. He just graduated from the University of North Carolina and he is wanting to talk about getting some cars.’ Michael said, ‘I want to buy seven cars. You see that big black Mercedes, the four-door? That’s the one for me. I want my mother to have the little Mercedes next to it, and I want my dad to have a Mercedes. I want my grandmother to have a big Pontiac Bonneville, and my brothers and sisters—Firebird Trans Ams, beautiful Pontiacs.’ Wow!
7. MICHAEL’S PORSCHE 911
This is the stereo typical Porsche that belongs in every single car collector’s garage. The beautiful red beast is the definition of what a fast and fine piece of driving machinery really is.
Jordan drove this thing all the time when he was in Chicago and it’s easy to see why. Who wouldn’t want to get into this every time they had to go somewhere?
He has owned several versions of the Porsche over the years and he loves the car so much, that he had a sneaker designed after it. He had a chat with one of the top sneaker designers in the world at the time, Tinker Hatfield. Michael wanted the Air Jordan VI to take after the Porsche 911. As you can see in the picture it looks like he did a pretty good job. To most people it just looks like a regular, highly overpriced sneaker, but to Jordan it reminds him of his favorite car. When you have the kind of cash that MJ has, you can imagine and think just about anything you want. If he wants to see a car in this sneaker… who are we to tell him that he can’t, right?
6. MICHAEL’S 2005 MERCEDES CL65
The fine art of cars that are in Michael Jordan’s garage is truly works of art. They have a certain, sleek, beautiful look to them, and the 2005 Mercedes CL65 is no different. However, it just may be the most powerful car in there.
It has a 6.0-liter V12 motor with two turbochargers! They work to push out 604 horsepower and reports say that it can get to 60 miles per hour from a stop at a very quick 4.2 seconds. It also has a five-speed tranny with touch soft shift manual controls.
When you look deeper into a lot of car collections you’ll see a lot of vehicles that are made with luxury in mind. However, not many of those can match the luxury that comes with a CL65.
When Michael graduated from UNC he bought everyone in his family brand new cars. The salesman told his son that he had no idea who MJ was and tried to talk him out of such a large purchase. “My dad called Michael’s daddy aside and said, ‘I think the world of you and Mrs. Jordan …and I know Michael means well, but my son graduated from college with honors in 1969, and he didn’t get a new car for several years. And your son is graduating from college and he’s talking about buying seven cars. Tell me how he’s planning on paying for that.” Wow! The man obviously never read the sports section!
5. MICHAEL’S CHEVROLET C4 CORVETTE
When Michael Jordan officially became a member of the Chicago Bulls, one of the first things he did was to sign a nice contract several Chevy dealerships in the area. He made several commercials for them and in return he no doubt got a great deal on his first Corvette, this awesome C4. He obviously has a high liking for Corvettes because over the years he also had a ’94, ’93 ZR1 and a ’90 ZR1. Later in life he moved over to more of the vehicles from overseas but when you see this one, you can tell why he was immediately drawn to it. Most Americans are.
When MJ bought his first cars after signing with Chicago, his dad had to reassure the car salesman that Michael could indeed pay for them. The salesman’s son said “Mr. Jordan said to him, ‘Mr. Lewis, don’t you know who my son is?’ My father said, ‘I never heard of your son.’ And Mr. Jordan said, ‘He’s an All-American and was deemed to be the greatest basketball player to ever come out of the University of North Carolina. He’s the greatest player ever in basketball and he’ll go on to be one of the greatest that ever played the game. … Don’t you understand? He just got a $10 million signing bonus from the Chicago Bulls, and he’s going to make millions of dollars every year. So don’t worry about it, Mr. Lewis. He can take care of it.’ He wasn’t lying.
4. MICHAEL’S FERRARI 512 TR
There have been plenty of famous photos of Michael Jordan on the basketball court. There have only been a few of those famous pictures snapped off of the court. One of them was when he was climbing out of his black Ferrari 512 TR. This was a modified version of the base model, the Ferrari Testarossa. Back in the early 90’s when it was put together for Michael it cost him around $212,000.
Everyone has seen the photo of him flying through the air on his way to the basketball hoop. Just as famous is the Sports Illustrated photo getting out of his car with the license plate of M-AIR-J. When that photo came out everyone that watched basketball wanted a Ferrari 512.
When MJ made his very first large purchase of multiple cars, he paid full price for each one because the salesman had always been nice to his parents. Despite almost being rejected for the sale. The story is told by the salesman’s son as “My dad went back over to Michael and told him he hadn’t meant any disrespect—he’d just wanted to make sure the family was okay with everything—and Michael said, ‘I understand, Mr. Lewis. But I want you to get a large sale. I’m going to pay the window-sticker price, because you were a really good friend to my mother and daddy. When nobody would loan them money to buy a car, you always made it happen.’ Being nice to people usually pays off!
3. MICHAEL’S FERRARI 599 GTB FIORANO
Look at this awesome vehicle and then try to look away, I dare you! It’s hard to do isn’t it? What a beauty it is. The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano is one of the crown jewels of Michael Jordan’s collection. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see why this is.
For those who don’t already know, family is very important to MJ. After making his first large car purchase, the owner of the dealership wanted Michael to come inside for a picture, rather than going outside to where Michael and his family were. As you can imagine, that didn’t sit well with the soon to be legend. The salesman’s son says “My dad goes back out and tells Michael, ‘We have a deal. By the way, the owner would like you to come in and have a picture made—just the two of you.’ And Michael said, ‘Really? He wants me to come in there, rather than him come out here where my mom and daddy and grandmother are? He thinks I’m going to do that?’ Michael said, 'Mr. Lewis, do me a favor. Go in and ask one of the people that’s got the camera to bring it out here and take a picture of you and me together, and then one of you and me and all my family together, and that’s the only picture that’s going to be made here today with me in them.'"
2. MICHAEL’S ASTON MARTIN DB9 VOLANTE
Another one of the stunning vehicles in Michael Jordan’s collection is another Aston Martin, this one is a DB9 Volante. He liked the DB7 so much that he stuck with the company and brought another one home.
Jordan is 55 years old now and it seems like only yesterday when he was flying through air on basketball courts around the country. During his playing days he had some really nice cars to start his collection. A lot came from deal he had with area dealerships and for a while he had a strong liking to Corvettes.
Over the years, like a fine wine, Michael got better with time, as did his taste for the finer vehicles in life. That’s when he started buying Ferrari’s Porsche’s and beautiful Aston Martins.
Now that’s not active on the court anymore he has a lot more time to drive his favorite cars. Can you imagine what a dilemma he must face each morning when he gets up? “Am I going to drive the Aston Martin, the Porsche or the Ferrari today?” That is a dilemma that most of us wish we could wake up to each and every day! Keep on plugging away; you never know when the day might come!
1. MICHAEL’S CHEVY CORVETTE ZR1 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
As we said earlier, when Michael Jordan first signed with the Chicago Bulls, one of his first orders of business was hooking up with several Chevy dealers in the Chicago area. He made a lot of commercials and got a lot of really good deals on some very nice cars. One of those was this awesome Corvette ZR1 40th Anniversary Edition.
It has 450 horses under the hood and there were only 448 of these made by Chevy. To make this one even rarer, there were just 220 of them that had the Anniversary Edition logo on them.
He had a liking for Corvettes back in his younger days so it’s easy to see why he would want to have this one in his garage. Rare cars are always a good find for one’s collection and there isn’t a car collector around who wouldn’t want to claim ownership of one of these.
After looking into all of these collections and fine vehicles, we can’t draw a concrete winner. It looks like these three basketball legends will have to go to overtime to determine who truly has the best car collection among them. Can you base it on money spent? Or maybe total value in the garage? Either way it’s too tough to pick a clear cut winner!
