Since retiring from the NBA during the 2010-2011 NBA season, Hall of Fame Center Shaquille O’Neal has had plenty of spare time on his hands. In addition to co-hosting Inside The NBA on TNT, O’Neal has picked up investing. Over the last decade, O’Neal became the owner of 155 Five Guys Hamburger Establishments, which represented 10% of the total company (O’Neal later sold the franchises). After selling the 155 Establishments of Five Guys, O’Neal now owns 17 Auntie Anne’s Pretzels Restaurants, Nine Papa John’s Restaurants, 150 Car Washes, 40 24-Hour Gyms, and his own Movie Theater in Newark. As a result of his aforementioned investments in various franchises and companies, O’Neal has accumulated a net worth of $400 Million, making him one of the five richest players in the NBA, alongside Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, and LeBron James.
With this said, O’Neal has been looking to secure his next big profit, and may have found it. According to O’Neal himself on a recent episode of “The Big Podcast With Shaq”, O’Neal is open to purchasing the Orlando Magic franchise from the DeVos Family, the current owners of the Magic.
“We still run that franchise,” O’Neal said. “And if they want to sell it to us, DeVos family, we ready to go right now.” “This message goes out to the DeVos family. If you’re ready to sell the Orlando Magic, sell it to somebody that’s going to take it to the next level. That’s us.”
Although O’Neal is incredibly wealthy, purchasing Orlando outright may be problematic. Although Orlando has been one of the NBA’s worst teams over the last decade, they are reportedly worth $1.64 Billion, which is far greater than O’Neal’s net worth of $400 Million. In spite of this, O’Neal has already experienced NBA Ownership firsthand, and knows the ins and outs of it. Prior to the 2013-2014 NBA Season, O’Neal purchased a minority stake in the Sacramento Kings, and later sold it in January of 2022.
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If O’Neal does purchase the Magic, he wouldn’t be alone in his efforts, as he has publicly asked Dennis Scott to join him in his efforts. For context, Scott played with O’Neal in Orlando from 1992-1996, and has kept in touch as one of O’Neal’s closest friends. Furthermore, O’Neal has promised to hire Scott to be at the top of the Magic’s Front Office. Like O’Neal, Scott has had previous experience in managing NBA Franchises, as Scott served as the General Manager of the Atlanta Vision of the American Basketball Association.
As O’Neal and Scott are continuing to try and purchase Orlando’s franchise, it will take a lot to turn the Magic around. Since the 2012-2013 NBA Season, Orlando has failed to make the playoffs in eight of the past ten years, and hasn’t advanced past the first round since the 2009-2010 season. Furthermore, Orlando is coming off a 21-51 Regular Season in 2021-2022 after trading their three Franchise Cornerstones in the previous season. Despite this, the Magic currently hold one of the NBA’s youngest cores, headlined by Wendell Carter Jr., Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, and Franz Wagner. Orlando also added No. 1 Pick Paolo Banchero and No. 32 Pick Caleb Houstan from the 2022 NBA Draft, giving the Magic an extremely bright future.