Over three decades ago, a young LSU athlete Shaquille O’Neal was in the national spotlight, projected as a first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He needed someone who knew the business and would negotiate a blockbuster rookie deal. Enter Leonard Armato, a regular sports agent in the ’90s. In August 1992, news broke that Shaq had inked his first NBA contract. His first NBA deal with his first team, Orlando Magic, was worth $40 million. At that time, it was the most lucrative deal in NBA history.

Armato outdid himself when he negotiated a deal that led Shaq from Walt Disney World to Disneyland. Though this agent-player partnership didn’t last, Armato became memorable as one of the architects of the Shaq brand.

When Leonard Armato brought Shaq

A college basketball player from the University of Pacific, USC, and the University of San Diego School of Law, Leonard Armato’s resume barely scratches the surface. He founded a volleyball league, helmed Skechers for two years, and ran other corporations. But he’s better known for building the brands of some of the most famous athletes in history, including Shaquille O’Neal and Oscar De La Hoya.

Brooklyn native, Armato, previously represented Shaq’s rival, Hakeem Olajuwon, and also Celtics’ Brian Shaw among a slew of NFL clients. He helped Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out of a business pitfall long before he met Shaq. He’s orchestrated multi-million deals between celebrities and brands. But the two of them have made history.

The first time he brought Shaq to Orlando Magic. The next time he whisked Shaq to the West Coast where he won his championships. He repeated over the years that he doesn’t make decisions for Shaq. Yet his influence over him was visible on the outside. He was said to be the one who convinced Shaq to leave LSU early and enter the draft. O’Neal would eventually return to LSU to complete his degree at the behest of his parents.

Before that, he tested the waters and figured the Minnesota Timberwolves were likely to pick O’Neal under the lottery system. But Armato sent out feelers that he’d force a trade if Minnesota got him. However, Orlando won the right to pick O’Neal and Armato negotiated his contract. The way he brought Shaq to Orlando, just the same, he played a big part in taking Shaq away.

Leonard Armato takes no responsibility for Shaq-nanigans

It’s a famous tale in Shaq-lore. He apparently demanded a hefty paycheck for taking the Magic closer to a title every season. He wasn’t seen worth the deal. So he went to the Los Angeles Lakers for a bigger paycheck. The media then painted Armato as the mastermind behind this.

He was working out of Los Angeles and he saw his star client’s future there. He became a bonafide NBA power broker when he negotiated with the Magic and the Lakers to see who wanted Shaq the most. The result of his efforts was a seven-year contract worth $120 million, a salary Shaq had never earned before.

Armato claimed he collected offers from teams and presented them to Shaq. If that connects to the Orlando Sentinel poll that had 91% of locals not seeing Shaq as worth $115 million, no one says so. The hurt from that poll lingered as 24-year-old Shaq came to the Lakers in 1996, very close to Armato’s Santa Monica office, and eventually won the championship four years later. Armato denies ever influencing Shaq. He doesn’t even call himself a hardballer who pushes aggressive deals. Bringing Shaq to the Lakers was more lucrative than a higher NBA salary.

In Orlando, Shaq was the platinum-selling rapper, Shaq Diesel, ingrained deep into the East Coast hip-hop culture. He was still a rapper in LA, just closer to Hollywood which set the stage for the entertainment machine that is Shaq. Armato was also the one negotiating Shaq’s movie and endorsement deals, partially responsible for making Shaq omnipresent in the commercial business. Just before he left Orlando, Shaq earned $17 million in endorsements in 1995, becoming the second highest-paid NBA endorser of the time behind Michael Jordan’s $40 million endorsement earnings.

In LA, Shaq visited his agent’s family almost everyday. Armato’s dad, Sam Armato was a retired English professor and USC professor who provided Shaq his daily supply of the ‘Word of the Day.’ Their close relations stayed even after they had an “amicable” split in 2001 when Shaq established his personal management company.

Armato still gets blamed for Shaq and Orlando’s breakup. But there were a lot of factors in play, including NBA regulations on salary caps and bird rights. In the end, he was there as Shaq made history day after day.