Shaquille O’Neal Ready for LeBron James Reunion? 7’1 Lakers Legend’s $100 Billion Vegas Dream Could Become a Thorn in His Bond with the King

The landscape of the modern NBA as we know it has been massively influenced by three main entities. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird gave the League a TV rivalry when it was about to go bust and set the stage for perhaps the most influential basketball player ever. Michael Jordan came in and gave the NBA a face. A superstar to build its brand around and someone to market off of. In many ways, players today are still aiming to be “like Mike”.

So naturally, if Michael Jordan owned a majority stake in an NBA Franchise post-retirement, a lot of players today wish to do the same. Perhaps his most direct competitor in the GOAT debate, LeBron James has never been shy about his admiration for the Bulls legend, even wearing the number 23 because of him. But is that all LeBron takes inspiration for?

LeBron James and his business acumen

LeBron James entered the NBA at the age of 18 and since then he has shattered records almost every year. Be it on the court, with his unstoppable gameplay, or off the court with his philanthropic contributions, the King has always been one to make headlines wherever he goes. His business mind has also been at the forefront of his dealings, with the first instance of it being showcased when he signed his rookie basketball deal with Nike. LeBron signed with Nike during his rookie year for a 7-year $87 Million deal and has since gone on to sign a lifetime deal worth nearly $1 Billion with the Oregon-based brand.

With huge stakes in various other ventures such as Lobos 1707 (a drink company that dabbles mainly in Tequila), the LeBron James Family Foundation (a trust started by James that aims to better the lives of kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio), Uninterrupted (a media company with athlete empowering ideals, allowing sports persons to freely share their opinions), and Blaze Pizza, LeBron James has a portfolio that boasts of several fields of investment. He even holds a minority stake in the English Soccer club Liverpool FC and in their ownership group the Fenway Sports Group.

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The King has indeed shown that he has the elite mind of a true businessman, and it appears as if there is only one other basketball player who can match his business acumen.

Shaquille O’Neal: Businessman Extraordinaire

Shaquille O’Neal is famous for a LOT of things. He was (and still is) the most dominant player that the NBA has ever seen. His on-court partnership with Kobe Bryant is as famous as their off-court rivalry. To this day, he remains the only player to have broken upwards of 10 backboards in his NBA career (the unofficial number is 12.5 somehow). He’s a DJ, he’s a rapper, and he’s an analyst on Inside the NBA during the NBA Regular Season and Playoffs. But one word that doesn’t come to mind when talking about the Big Aristotle is one that probably describes him the best: Businessman.

DJ Diesel is perhaps one of the most shrewd business minds that the NBA has ever produced. He has, over the course of his life, owned as many as 40 24 Hour Fitness gyms, 150 car washes, 155 Five Guys Burger & Fries, nine Papa John?s, 17 Auntie Anne?s pretzels, and a few Krispy Kreme restaurants. He has sold some of these holdings, including all the stakes he held in Five Guys.

Potentially more impressive is O?Neal?s venture portfolio. With roughly 90% of startups failing, the number of companies reaching a valuation of over $1 billion is so rare they?re called unicorns. O?Neal?s investments in Alphabet Inc.?s Google, Lyft Inc., Ring and Vitaminwater have all proved lucrative reports Yahoo! Finance.

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Apart from the obvious money-making assets, Shaq has a tremendous love for philanthropy. He is the owner of the eponymous Shaq brand, which focuses on ensuring children can get affordable basketball shoes instead of having to rely on expensive brands like Nike and Adidas.

Ownership: an NBA player’s dream

As mentioned before, every NBA player wants to be “like Mike”. When he bought a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets in 2010, players were opened up to the idea of owning a franchise on their own. However, this came with many challenges. For starters, an active player cannot own any sort of stake in a franchise, owing to the conflict of interests. Secondly, even the least valuable NBA franchise (the New Orleans Pelicans at a measly $1.6 Billion) is too expensive for any one player to own outright. This would mean that for a player to own any sort of majority stake in a franchise, they’d have to form a sports ownership group.

There is, however, one way out. That is the possible existence of expansion teams in the future. As of now, the NBA houses 30 teams in total, with 15 from the Eastern Conference, and 15 from the Western. But commissioner Adam Silver has kept the idea of future expansion sides open for debate.

Obviously, that raises the question of which city will be deemed worthy of a team of their own. A fan favorite is Seattle, with many demanding a return for the Supersonics and Las Vegas because of its heavily glamorous nightlife.

Shaq and LeBron: Reunited?

While Shaquille O’Neal is most famous for his time with the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, he did in fact spend time with a LOT of other franchises. One such franchise was the Cleveland Cavaliers, during the time that LeBron James was on the comeup. With two extremely physically dominant players on the team, many would’ve expected Cleveland to go far, but the sad fact was that with time affecting him, Shaq wasn’t the force of nature he used to be. His Cleveland stint ended without much success professionally, but he and LeBron had formed a bond. Their relationship seems to pan generations, as their children are also pretty close. But how does this tie to their ownership dreams?

In the press conference after LeBron’s Lakers beat Ben Simmons’ Nets, the King spoke about how important Vegas has been to his basketball Journey, with him having played there for the first time in 2005. He went on to mention rumors of a potential expansion team coming to Sin City, and his dreams of owning such a team. But LeBron isn’t the only one.

Like all good businessmen, Shaq has always looked to expand his portfolio, and the idea of a Vegas expansion team is very appealing to the Big Shamrock. However, he has claimed that he wants that honor all to himself. “I would like to have my own group,” O’Neal told?The Messenger’s Arash Markazi. “I know Vegas hasn’t been awarded an NBA team yet, but if they ever get to a point where they are awarded a team, I would like to be a part of that. I don’t want to partner up with nobody. I want it all for myself.” O’Neal has lived in Vegas for the last 20 years and has seen the expansion of other sports in the city with the WNBA’s Aces, the NFL’s Raiders, and the NHL’s Golden Knights over the last 6.

Now the question on everyone’s lips is will Shaq, the basketball player, and Lebron the basketball player join forces on this potential Vegas expansion franchise? Or will Shaq the businessman and LeBron the businessman look out for their own profit?

With the NBA’s current media rights expiring after the end of the 2024-2025 season, and LeBron’s playing career extended by another year, we will have to wait and see what the two may have planned.