NBA
Shaquille O'Neal Could Use His $400 Million Fortune to Make Up for an Old Orlando Magic Regret
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sports7 in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sports7, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
Get to know Joe Kozlowski betterUpdated27 Jun 2022
From afar, it's easy to assume that Shaquille O'Neal has lived a relatively successful life. The center won four NBA titles and is rightfully considered a living basketball legend. He's also found plenty of commercial success and built up an estimated $400 million fortune.
Despite that reality, the big man does have his fair share of regrets. One of those arose early in his professional career when he left the Orlando Magic for Hollywood.
While even Shaq lacks the money to travel back in time, he could have a potential way to assuage at least some of that regret. O'Neal, it seems, is at open to the possibility of owning the Magic.
Shaquille O'Neal floats the idea of owning the Orlando Magic
During his time in the spotlight, Shaq has never been shy about speaking his mind. On a recent episode of his podcast, that meant floating the idea of NBA ownership.
“We still run that franchise,” O’Neal said of the Orlando Magic. “And if they want to sell it to us, DeVos family, we ready to go right now.”
In this case, the “we” refers to Shaq and Dennis Scott. While the latter man might not have the same resume as The Diesel, he did spend 12 years in the Association, with seven of those coming in Orlando.
Scott then told O'Neal that one of his billionaire friends should put up the money to let them buy the team. The big man, however, suggested that the cash flow wouldn't be an issue.
“Dennis, we got the money, you ain’t got to worry bout the money,” Shaq continued. “But this message go out to the DeVos family: If you’re ready to sell the Orlando Magic, sell it to somebody that’s gon’ take it to the next level. That’s us.”
While there are some logistical hurdles, Shaq does have an emotional tie to the Magic
With all due respect to O'Neal, buying the Orlando Magic is probably easier said than done on a few fronts.
First, Forbes lists the franchise's value at somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.64 billion. The big man may be wealthy, but that's probably a bit beyond his price range. While a consortium could address that reality, it would take time and probably mean someone other than Shaq is ultimately calling the shots.
Secondly, O'Neal previously owned a piece of the Sacramento Kings but had to divest in the NBA club after signing on with a gambling company. While that could work in reverse, with the center ending his relationship with WynnBET, it's another logistical hurdle that would have to be cleared.
Lastly, the DeVos family would have to be willing to sell. While money can talk, it would certainly be a choice to move on after adding the first-overall pick to the team's young core.
With that being said, though, Shaq does have a potential motivation to return to Florida. As basketball fans will remember, the center started his career with the Magic before leaving town in painful circumstances. While he found plenty of success elsewhere, the big man has since said that he regretted leaving the promising young squad (h/t Sporting News).
As the cliche says, where there's a will, there's a way.
Could making up for that regret and returning to Orlando, albeit as an owner, give Shaq the push to get a deal over the line. It certainly won't be easy, but stranger things have happened in sports.
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