NEW YORK — If Shaquille O’Neal isn’t getting in at least his 5,000 steps a day, the four-time NBA champion admittedly feels a little lazy. According to O’Neal — who has been a regular Garmin smartwatch wearer — he wishes he had access to wearable devices now on the market during his 19-year career, maybe similar to how Minnesota Timberwolves forward Zach LaVine or Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes have leveraged Fitbit.
“The Garmin’s the best (wearable) because their watch battery lasts about three weeks. … When you get to 5,000, it vibrates and gives you little bubbles. I like seeing that on my watch,” he said.
SportTechie caught up with the NBA analyst at the PlayStation Theater in Manhattan prior to an American Express Teamed Up event. O’Neal sat on stage with ESPN analyst Doris Burke and ex-NBA power forward Alonzo Mourning to discuss his 2006 championship with Mourning, getting drafted No. 1 and No. 2 in 1992, the Golden State Warriors super team and other NBA-centric topics.
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Backstage, when asked about his involvement in NRG eSports, a team that O’Neal invested in last year, the Hall of Famer said that he doesn’t have much daily or weekly involvement with NRG now.
“It’s always been in my business model not to micro-manage,” he explained. “I’m not an expert but the guys who are working for me are. I believe in them and when they came to me and said we should invest, we should do this, I didn’t believe it until one day my son made me take him to a game at the Staples Center, and it was packed. It sounded like it was a Lakers game. Watching these kids play, and I was like, ‘What the hell is this?’ Then I remember having a conversation with my guys and saying, ‘I’m going to do it.’ It’s definitely entertaining.”
O’Neal said that with his technology and business investments, he likes to “inspire people, create opportunities,” adding that he has never been one looking for a “quick-flip” type of deal or investment. Asked if he’ll double down on esports and gaming outside of a team, potentially a technology company fused into gaming, he said he wasn’t sure yet.
“I’d have to do a little more research on that,” he added.
O’Neal joined former MLB shortstop Alex Rodriguez and free agent Jimmy Rollins as investors in the NRG, which was one of the first organizations to receive investment from the mainstream sports world. Since their announcement, other NBA players like Brooklyn Nets point guard Jeremy Lin and Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko have entered the esports space while others outside of basketball such as Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown have leveraged gaming as a means to find a new set of fans to engage with online.
Additionally, top 2017 NBA draft prospect De’Aaron Fox is the latest professional athlete turning his love for gaming into business opportunities, with the projected lottery pick partnering with hardware company HyperX before tomorrow’s draft.