Shaquille O’Neal has made it clear numerous times by now that he is interested in owning an NBA team in Las Vegas. In the past, though, O’Neal had no interest in partnering with anyone for it, but he’s now open to doing so with LeBron James.
“If there’s ever an NBA team that’s going to come here, I would definitely like to be involved,” O’Neal said. “With LeBron, without LeBron, I just want to be involved.”
You do wonder what led to the 51-year-old changing his stance on the matter. It was just last month that O’Neal stated he wanted to own the expansion team in Las Vegas, and that he did not want to partner with anyone.
He wanted all of it for himself but has changed his tune now. It could be that O’Neal found out that James would be getting that team and resigned himself to the fact that if he wanted to be a part of the ownership group, then he would have to partner with his former teammate.
LeBron James Told Adam Silver He Wants To Own An NBA Team In Las Vegas
While O’Neal has only recently started to express an interest in owning a team in the city, James has been speaking about it for well over a year. LeBron even openly sent a message to Commissioner Adam Silver, stating he wants to own the team in Las Vegas.
James has a net worth of $1 billion and is a partner in Fenway Sports Group, which puts him in a great position to launch a bid for the team, if and when the opportunity arises. It is unclear whether he’d be interested in partnering with O’Neal, though, who has a net worth of around $400 million.
They’d be quite a pairing, that’s for sure, but the Los Angeles Lakers superstar might not want to have a powerful and influential figure like O’Neal around. We’ll find out for sure what LeBron thinks of this proposition if he does end up becoming the owner.
The NBA’s Expansion Plans
O’Neal was one of many celebrities present at the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas this weekend. F1 is keen to make its mark in the city, with sports becoming such a big part of it, and the NBA is no different. As far as having a team there, though, we’ll have to wait a bit longer for that.
Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum made it clear expansion is not at the top of their list of priorities. While Tatum believes there is enough talent for the league to have new teams, the next big thing on the agenda for the league is the media deals.
They will expire in two years and after that, the topic of expansion comes into play. With it being such a complicated process, though, you’d think it’ll take a couple more years for the NBA to finalize everything. So, don’t expect to see new teams in the near future, but they will eventually come in someday.
It would be quite a story if LeBron does end up being the one getting the team. For someone to go from being a player to a majority owner in the NBA would be an incredible story. Michael Jordan was a famous example of that and it just seems fitting that James would be the next to do it.
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