In just the past few days (as of this writing) the sale of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns was announced. Our man Shaq had talked about the possibility of his jumping on board an ownership team…and while the Suns have been in play, it now seems O’Neal has different plans.
As for the Suns, mortgage company executive Mat Ishbia has agreed in principle to buy a majority stake of the Phoenix Suns (as well as the WNBA Phoenix Mercury team) from embattled owner Robert Sarver. Price tag? Somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 billion… certainly a very nice neighborhood!
Meanwhile, Shaq is giving a little more info about his ownership plans. On the most recent edition of his Big Podcast with Shaq, the NBA legend and Hall of Fame center talked about his interest in becoming owner of a Florida team…either the Miami Heat or Orlando Magic.
For our NBA historians out there, we know that O’Neal played for both franchises in his NBA career, winning a title with the Heat in the 2005-06 season against the Dallas Mavericks. He was drafted by the Magic with the Number One overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft.
Now, we do need to add that even though Shaq did not come right out and mention those two teams – the Heat and the Magic – by name, those two teams are the only two NBA teams that currently call Florida home.
As of right now, neither of those teams are on the block, being offered for sale. Still, should someone (or some team) come along with a big enough sack of cash, a deal might still be made. Everything has its price, right?
Currently, the Miami Heat are owned by businessman Micky Arison, who just happens to be the chairman of Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise operator. Gee, and Shaq does TV commercials and other promotions for Carnival Cruise Lines. What a coincidence! Arison took over the franchise back in 1995. Since then, the team has become one of the most respected organizations not only in the NBA, but also in all of professional sports.
Under Arison’s ownership, the Heat have won three NBA titles, two coming in the Big 3 era with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
O’Neal played for Miami for four seasons, and he was a big factor in the win of the 2006 NBA Finals, making a great combination with longtime Heat superstar Dwyane Wade.
As for the Magic, they certainly have not been as successful as the Heat, but they did make an NBA Finals with Dwight Howard leading the way. The team fell short in that series to another one of O’Neal’s former teams, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Still, Orlando seems to be on the upswing. They’re making some good moves with their roster, especially with the addition of the 2022 Number One draft pick, Paolo Banchero.
As we know, O’Neal has quite the business empire, and quite an impressive roster of talent and potential partners he could tap into to make a play for buying a team. Remember, the Suns went for $4 billion dollars. The Miami Heat – should the team ever go up for sale – would probably command just as much. The Magic might be a better deal…but again, neither team is up for sale (that we know of).
Still, interesting and unusual moves happen all the time on the professional sports landscape. Only time will tell if Shaq gets his wish to own a Florida NBA team.