Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal had more relists (five) for his Florida home than NBA championships (four), but the big man finally sold the mega-mansion for $11 million. That’s a discount of roughly 60% compared with his original price of $28 million.
The mammoth deal ends a three-year saga that saw him tap five different agents to try to sell the place.
“I was lucky No. 5,” said Benjamin Hillman of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, who ultimately closed the sale. “Shaq trusted me to find him a buyer, and I assured him I was the agent to do it.”
At 31,000 square feet, the Shaq-sized estate overlooks Lake Butler in the gated golf community of Isleworth outside Orlando, and the amenity list is as extensive as any in the country. There’s a 6,000-square-foot Miami Heat-themed basketball court, 17-car showroom, cigar room, wine cellar, custom theater, safe room, recording studio, aquarium adorned with hieroglyphics and a 95-foot-long swimming pool dubbed “Shaq-apulco.”
The Shaq references don’t stop there. A Superman logo hangs from the mirrored walls of the auto showroom, and in the living room, a massive mural depicts the former MVP driving a semi-truck.
Elsewhere are 12 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms and a grand foyer with dual mahogany staircases, tray ceilings and marble floors. The 44-foot-long office and primary suite with cheetah-print carpet both take in views of the water.
The four-acre grounds also include a tiki-style cabana and 700 feet of lakefront with a private dock. Gates and a 10-foot privacy wall guard the property, and for extra security, there are 15 cameras inside and 18 outside.
O’Neal, 49, played for six teams during his storied career, winning three NBA championships with the Lakers and one with the Heat. In 2011, he joined TNT’s “Inside the NBA” program as an analyst and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame five years later.
Records show he bought the property for $3.95 million in 1993.
Hillman held the listing. Rob Rahter of Stockworth Realty Group represented the buyer.