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Magic Legend Shaquille O'Neal: Interested in Owning 'Certain Team in Florida?'
Over the past few months, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has not been shy on his willingness to own a franchise.
Just last October, the former Orlando Magic center hinted at the idea of returning to his roots.
“It’d probably be disrespectful to say it, but I would like to go back home," O'Neal told CNN. "I’ll leave that to the viewers to figure out [what it means]. I would like to go back home.”
And while several places can be considered home for the Hall of Famer, O'Neal threw a less subtle hint recently on the "3 Points with Chris Mannix” podcast.
"I’m still looking to be an owner, and I’m interested in a certain team in Florida,” Shaq said.
“It’s not Miami,” he added.
In other words, the longtime NBA center is talking about the first stop of his NBA career.
After being selected first overall by in 1992, O'Neal spent the first four years in of his career in Orlando while leading the team to three postseason berths - including an NBA Finals appearance in 1995.
The DeVos family has owned the Magic since 1991, but has not shown interest in selling the franchise despite Amway co-founder and patriarch Richard DeVos passing away in 2018.
"Listen we still run that franchise [Magic]. If they wanna sell it to us, DeVos family, we're ready to go right now," O'Neal said on The Big Podcast in July. "This message go out to the DeVos family, if you're ready to sell Orlando Magic, sell it to somebody who's gonna take it to the next level, that's us. Dennis] Scott and then, D Scott can pick everybody else. Smart people combined with common sense people and people that's been there before, you can't go wrong."
O'Neal previously held a minority ownership in the Sacramento Kings since 2013 before selling his stake in January.
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