Los Angeles Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal was actually interested in putting together a bid to buy the Phoenix Suns until recent reports suggested that billionaire Jeff Bezos could be interested in buying the NBA franchise.
After a months-long NBA investigation found that Suns majority owner Robert Sarver was involved in countless instances of inappropriate workplace misconduct, he has decided to put his ownership shares in the Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury up for sale. Owning an American sports franchise is one of the best portfolio additions on the planet, and even a midmarket organization like the Suns is sure to bring about interest from many of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
One man who says he had an interest in Sarver’s ownership stake is Lakers great and NBA Hall of Famer, Shaquille O’Neal. However, Shaq told TMZ Sports on Saturday that his interest didn’t last long once he saw rumors of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos possibly being in the running to buy Phoenix’s basketball franchises.
“I was interested but when big man JB said he was interested — nobody can compete with big man JB. Imma tell ya now, once Jeff Bezos put his name in the hat, all you others just close your checkbook and go home. Nobody on this planet can compete with big man JB. I’m not gonna be up in there trying to go up against big man JB.”
Los Angeles Lakers great open to working with Jeff Bezos to purchase Phoenix Suns
Bezos is one of the richest people on earth, with a reported net worth of $139. 2 billion. In comparison, the "NBA on TNT analyst" is worth just a fraction of that at $400 million. So his disinterest in a bidding war with the Amazon boss is understandable. However, O’Neal says that if Bezos wanted him to be a part of a group bid for the team worth $1.8 billion, he would be all for it.
“If he wants me I would gladly like to talk to him," Shaq said. "As far as trying to own the whole team by myself and go up against big man JB — let me tell you something, I’m scared of big man JB.”
Bezos has not officially stated his interest in buying majority ownership in the Suns. However, he and other super-billionaires are likely targets of speculation since purchasing the organization would not be that big an expenditure for their insanely deep pockets.
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