Shaquille O'Neal teases potential partnership with LeBron James & Mark Cuban for NBA team

Shaquille O
Shaquille O'Neal teases ownership trio with Mark Cuban and LeBron James amid expansion talks (Image credit: Imagn)

Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal was once considered among the potential suitors interested in buying the Phoenix Suns before Mat Ishbia. At the time, while O'Neal teased NBA ownership, he made it clear that he had no plans of competing against Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for the franchise.

Now, O'Neal teased the idea that he, future Hall of Famer LeBron James, and former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban could all go in on an expansion team together. While speaking on "The Big Podcast with Shaq," Cuban opened the door to another franchise ownership opportunity.

After selling his majority stake in the Mavericks, and giving up controlling interest in the team, Cuban explained that if it's okay with his business partners, he would be willing to go in on an expansion team with O'Neal and James.

"I'd have to make it okay with my current partners, but, yeah, if my kids were like, 'All right, we're set. We don't. You know, that's not what we want or whatever.' And it was Shaq. F**k Yeah. I would look at making a comeback. ... So, you know, we get me, you, LeBron, we might have something there," Cuban said.

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Looking at the latest news regarding a potential NBA expansion following Shaquille O'Neal's conversation with Mark Cuban

While an ownership trio of Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James, and Mark Cuban can make waves given their capital and prominence in the NBA community, the league still has several years to go before an expansion.

According to last month's ESPN report, the league is targeting the 2027-28 season for expansion teams to begin playing in the NBA.

While Adam Silver had long said that the league wouldn't begin discussing an expansion until after the next media rights deal was finalized, nothing stands in the way of an expansion now.

Given that, it is only a matter of time before things get finalized. The big question, of course, is what cities will be lucky enough to get NBA franchises.

Currently, the two leading contenders appear to be Seattle, given the history of the Sonics organization, and Las Vegas, which has never been home to an NBA franchise.

A Las Vegas franchise is something that has caught James' attention. The future Hall of Famer made it clear in the past that he has his sights set on ownership.

The big question, of course, has been whether James will have to retire in owner to join a franchise as an owner. While he hasn't decided when he wants to retire, the targeted 2027-28 season for an expansion would give the four-time champ plenty of time to ride out his career before transitioning to ownership.

With Cuban and O'Neal as potential partners, James' NBA ownership dream could become a reality in the coming years.

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Edited by Abhimanyu Gupta
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