Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal Makes Announcement on Sunday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Oct 19, 2025 10:42 PM ET

Shaquille O’Neal, after a long playing career with teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, spent 13 seasons with TNT on the hit show “Inside the NBA.” However, the show has moved to ESPN for the 2025-6 season, with O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Ernie Johnson following suit.

But O’Neal has accomplished much more since retiring. He owns several food franchises, including Papa John’s, Krispy Kreme and his own fast-food chain, Big Chicken. The four-time NBA champion also holds endorsement deals with a variety of brands, including Oreo, Icy Hot, Pepsi and Carnival. Now, Shaq has added yet another venture to his growing portfolio.

NBA great Shaquille O'Neal© David Butler II-Imagn Images

On Sunday, O’Neal announced on social media that he’s now part of Sora, a new platform that allows users to create short, realistic videos using written prompts and digital cameos.

With his likeness available on the AI model, Shaq shared a video of himself as a Los Angeles Dodgers player, who was rounding the bases following a home run. This comes after Shohei Ohtani led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a Game 4 win against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS. Ohtani notably recorded three homers and 10 strikeouts, leading the Dodgers back to the World Series.

"Man steps in for Los Angeles," a commentator in the video said. "First pitch coming. He absolutely crushes that one to left... Way back, forget it. That ball is gone. Come on, big fella."

Like O'Neal, many other athletes have their likeness available on Sora as well, including former Lakers center Wilt Chamberlain, his former teammate Kobe Bryant and even boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Even celebrities such as Jake Paul and former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made their way into the platform.

"I’m on sora @shaq34diesel," Shaq wrote on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DR. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL Ed.D. (@shaq)

While users can now have fun using AI to place O’Neal into different videos, he’s preparing for his ESPN debut on “Inside the NBA” on Oct. 22, before the New York Knicks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: