Shaquille O’Neal’s latest foray appears to be in a front office role.
The basketball Hall of Famer has reportedly agreed to become the men’s basketball general manager for the Sacramento State Hornets, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania on Monday.
Charania added that it will be an unpaid voluntary role bringing O’Neal closer to his son Shaqir O’Neal, who plays for the team.
The four-time NBA champion will form a high-profile duo with 14-year NBA veteran Mike Bibby, who was named head coach of Sacramento State last month.
While O’Neal never played for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings throughout his 19-year career that spanned six different teams, he has a unique connection to the area. During his playing days with cross-state rival Los Angeles Lakers, the now-53-year-old had a contentious relationship with the city of Sacramento, notably mocking the Kings by referring to them as the “Queens.” After O’Neal and the Lakers won their third consecutive title, beating the Kings in seven games along the way, he claimed that Sacramento could never be the capital of California during L.A.’s championship parade.
All of that became water under the bridge, however, when O’Neal apologized for his past comments as he was introduced as a minority owner of the Kings in 2013. The 15-time All-Star was tied to the organization for nearly a decade before selling his ownership stake in 2022.
O’Neal is the latest notable athlete to venture into a collegiate front office role. Golden State Warriors’ star Stephen Curry was named assistant GM of his alma mater Davidson last month, while former first overall NFL draft pick Andrew Luck was named GM of Stanford in Nov. 2024.
Sacramento State went 7-25 last season, their fewest wins since 2020-21.
