NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has been quietly building a real estate empire despite strongly advising Jason Kelce to shy away from making ‘dumba** mistakes.’
On an episode of The Big Podcast, the four-time NBA champion opened up about losing his family because of his decision making. He also shared how it resulted in him being in ‘A 100,000 square foot house’ by himself.
‘If you are going to retire, accept it,’ O’Neal told the Philadelphia Eagles star. ‘Enjoy your family brother. I made a lot of dumba** mistakes to where I lost my family and I didn’t have anybody. That’s not the case for you.
‘So enjoy your beautiful wife, enjoy your beautiful kids, and never dwell on what we had. You got the [Super Bowl] ring, people know who you are, enjoy it. Because again, I was an idiot. I lost my whole family [and] I’m in a 100,000 square foot house by myself.’
Despite lamenting over living a solitary life inside massive mansions, O’Neal happens to own several colossal properties.
While many details of of his estate are unconfirmed, public records – revealed by the Post – indicate that the TNT NBA analyst owns nine lavish properties across Nevada, Texas, Georgia and Florida.
Over the last four years, O’Neal bought four different homes in McDonough, Georgia. The properties combine for 30 acres of land, which could indicate and intention to build a bigger estate.
O’Neal also owns a 4,600-square-foot home in Hampton, Georgia.
His most recent purchase is a five-bedroom, six-bathroom estate in the Dallas suburb of Carrolton that occupies over 5,200 square feet. This purchase comes just months after selling his mansion in Orlando, Florida.
Records obtained by the New York Post show that O’Neal also owns a 6,400-sqaure-foot home in Sugar Land, Texas.
Additionally, In 2021, O’Neal bought a modern, sleek estate spanning 4,800 square feet in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Kelce received O’Neal’s words of wisdom while he contemplated retiring after the Eagles’ wild card loss in January. After going 11-6 in the season, Philadelphia got blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 32-9.
O’Neal played 19 seasons in the NBA with stints for the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. O’Neal won three of his titles in Los Angeles and one in Miami before retiring in 2011.
Aside from winning three Finals MVPs and a regular season MVP in 2000, O’Neal had 15 All-Star and 17 All-NBA selections.
O’Neal has four kids with his ex-wife Shaunie O’Neal. He also has a stepson from Shaunie’s previous relationship and a daughter with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.