Shaquille O’Neal sold his Florida residence for $11 million after five relistings, which is more than the number of NBA championships he won. This represents a discount of approximately 60% compared to his original price of $28 million.
The enormous transaction concludes a three-year saga in which he hired five different agents to sell the property.
“I was lucky No. 5,” said Benjamin Hillman of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, who ultimately concluded the deal. “Shaq had faith in me to find him a buyer, and I assured him that I was the agent for the job.”
The Shaq-sized estate overlooks Lake Butler in the gated golf community of Isleworth outside Orlando, and its list of amenities is the most exhaustive in the nation. There is a 6,000-square-foot basketball court with a Miami Heat theme, a 17-car showroom, a cigar room, a wine cellar, a custom theatre, a secure room, a recording studio, an aquarium adorned with hieroglyphics, and a 95-foot-long swimming pool named “Shaq-apulco.”
The references to Shaq continue. A Superman logo adorns the mirrored walls of the auto showroom, and a massive mural in the living room depicts the former MVP operating a tractor-trailer.
In addition, there are twelve bedrooms, thirteen bathrooms, and a magnificent foyer with dual mahogany staircases, tray ceilings, and marble floors. Both the 44-foot-long office and the primary accommodation with cheetah-print carpet offer water views.
The four-acre premises also feature a tiki-style cabana and a private dock along 700 feet of lakefront. In addition to gates and a 10-foot privacy wall, there are 15 cameras inside and 18 cameras outside for added security.
O’Neal, 49, played for six teams over the course of his legendary tenure, winning three NBA titles with the Lakers and one with the Heat. Five years after joining TNT’s “Inside the NBA” as an analyst in 2011, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.