Former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal has reportedly purchased a home in the North Dallas region. According to an Instagram post by realtor Zac Gideo of Rogers Healy, Shaq purchased a home in Collin County. Details, including the price and location of the property, have not been made public.
The basketball star has a few connections to Texas, but it is not clear whether he will become the newest celebrity to relocate to the Lone Star State.
O’Neal never played professional basketball for a team in Texas, but he did attend high school in the state. He played for Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio before attending Louisiana State University.
While O’Neal is well-known for making real estate development decisions, the purchase of a North Texas home could have something to do with more newly-formed ties to the region.
Big Chicken, a Las Vegas-based restaurant chain owned by O’Neal, recently announced an agreement with Firehouse Subs franchisee Coby Jones to bring six Big Chicken franchises to West Texas and Central Oklahoma.
The restaurant deal is expected to bring around 50 franchise locations to the DFW area and other Texas markets. Big Chicken is also expanding into Chicago, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, adding to stores already in New York and Las Vegas, as well as in several stadiums and on cruise ships.
Big Chicken might be only part of the reason that O’Neal is interested in a North Texas home base. His son, Shaqir O’Neal, recently announced that he will attend Texas Southern University to play basketball. Shaqir attended high school in Los Angeles.
The head coach of the TSU Tigers is Johnny Jones, who was an assistant when Shaquille O’Neal attended LSU in the early 1990s.
Shaqir has stated that his ultimate goal is to follow in his father’s rather large footsteps and make a career playing in the NBA. Shaqir will be the third child of the O’Neal family to take to the court. His sister Amirah and older brother Shareef currently play for LSU.
While there are many compelling reasons that Shaquille O’Neal would decide to purchase a property in North Texas, it is also possible that the decision is simply to take advantage of the state’s beneficial tax base and beautiful luxury properties.
At an award luncheon in Dallas in February, O’Neal said that he was “in the area a lot” because he was searching for a home.