Shaquille O’Neal‘s real estate connection with Queen Latifah is turning stronger. Notably, Shaq and Latifah share common roots from their hometown, Newark, where both once worked for a cause-driven real estate project as well. More recently, the two were present in Dallas for Game 3 between the Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Meanwhile, the former LA Lakers star posted a photo featuring him and Latifah on his official Instagram account. “this family right here #brickcity @queenlatifah,” read the caption to the post. Notably, the “#brickcity” in Shaquille O’Neal’s caption is a reference to their hometown, Newark.

Regarding Latifah’s presence at the Dallas Mavericks’ game, sports anchor Jonah Javad posted a video of the rapper interacting with the Mavericks’ majority owner. “Queen Latifah courtside in Dallas for Mavs-Wolves Game 3. Chatting it up pregame with Mavericks majority owner Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont,” read the post on ‘X’.

As for the Game 3  between the Timberwolves and Mavericks, the Mavs secured a 116-107 win over the Wolves. With this, the Mavericks have now gained a 3-0 lead in the conference finals stage. The next game on May 29 will be a deciding one for the championship aspirations of the Wolves

A closer look into the housing projects by Shaquille O’Neal and Queen Latifah

As per the reports, the lack of affordable housing is one of the major issues that renters and prospective homebuyers face in the US. To counter this issue in their hometown, stars like Shaq and Latifah came up with housing developments around the beginning of 2020.

Latifah’s project, named ‘RISE Living’, included 16 affordable housing units. Notably, ‘RISE’ is an acronym for ‘Rita Is Still Everywhere’, which was a tribute to her deceased mother, Rita. “I grew up around here playing in West Side Park, a block away. My grandfather’s hardware store was blocks from here… I saw what was needed on this block, houses that weren’t lived in. Some were really dilapidated, and so I thought, ‘Why not here?'” she said, as per NorthJersey.com.

Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal’s housing project, named ‘Shaq Tower 2’, was to be the largest 80/20 mixed-income project in New Jersey. As per the reports, the building was to have 370 apartments, of which 20% were to be classified as ‘affordable’. So it’s clear that Shaq and Latifah not only share the same hometown but a similar love for the place.