USA Today Sports is reporting Shaquille O'Neal is set to become a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings.
O'Neal, who as a member of the L.A. Lakers, famously feuded with the Kings and, at the height of the rivalry, once dubbed them "the Sacramento Queens." But all now seems forgiven as the newspaper reports O'Neal is set to take on an active role with the team.
"What interested me in this deal is the new vision, the new Kings, the new everything," O'Neal told USA Today. "I've always wanted to be part of something like this. ... It's going to be great."
O'Neal, who now works as a TNT analyst, told the newspaper he plans to meet with players and coaches as early as today and will later have dinner and a one-on-one sit down with franchise centerpiece and his new protege DeMarcus Cousins.
ESPN recently ranked the Kings, now owned by Silicon Valley software tycoon Vivek Ranadive, last among all 122 NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB franchises in ownership, prompting O'Neal to chime "worst is at the bottom, which means you can't get no worser. There's no such thing as worser, which means we can only get better. And we will get better. Once that new arena comes, once that new downtown is up, once we have a conversation with the players and get everybody to step up, they'll be knocking on the door."
As for his "queens" comment, O'Neal now says it was "part of being a marketing genius."
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