Imagine being funny, connecting with the audience, pivoting to a successful second career, yet finding others being ahead of you. This was the exact feeling that Shaquille O’Neal sensed when he saw Michael Jordan and LeBron James, being ahead of him in a list. What list? The famous Forbes Billionaire list, “I want to be on that Forbes list… Because when I seen the article, I was like… ‘Well, I gotta be number one, two, or three. I wasn’t in that thing at all.’” Shaq has amassed $500 million, but is short of MJ and LeBron. But continues to make business moves to achieve that target.

The Lakers legend’s NBA experience is unique, unlike other stars. How? He competed against his idol, Michael Jordan, and the famous successor, ‘Chosen One’–LeBron James. In fact, Shaq even shared the locker room with James and even dubbed him “the best young leader” he’d seen. Let’s not discount O’Neal’s popularity as a star himself, which he has successfully used to transition to his business deals. From fast food, candies, and beverages, Shaq has done it all. For his next venture, he has the indirect support of LeBron and MJ.

How? Trading and collecting memorabilia. Diesel was once an avid collector, but after the never-before-seen collection of a man named Tim Banazek, Shaq said, “really got (me) back into it.” Now, Banazek and Shaquille O’Neal are partners and looking for a solution ot their big problem. For context, Banazek is a former sales executive who lives in Virginia, but he is famous for his collection. 1000 and 10,000 cards look pale in comparison to his largest privately held card collection in the world.

It is believed to hold about 20 million cards and is preparing to take the “Big League Find” to the world, with O’Neal as a partner. While talking to SI, Shaquille O’Neal shared his journey of being a collector. The 4x NBA champion recalled, “I got a Reggie Jackson, I got a Pete Rose,” it was from a pack of Bazooka Joe cards he opened as a child. Then he shared the regret that most collectors feel.

“Holding something, something that’s yours—that’s the value right there,” O’Neal said. “Even now, you come across certain cards you’ve never seen where you’re like—’Oh, this is interesting.’ I should’ve had the discipline to keep all the cards I collected over the years.” Banazek purchased the collection in 2021, and the massive collection contains at least 20,000 cards of Hall of Fame guard Michael Jordan, 5,000 of quarterback Tom Brady, and 5,000 of LeBron James.

Is Shaquille O’Neal backing the right MJ-LeBron business?

Collecting cards is not new, but the valuation that a piece of cardboard with a photograph is skyrocketing. According to HoopsHype, at least 26 NBA cards have now crossed the seven-figure threshold. Top names? Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant… and of course, Michael Jordan. Steph sits at the top with a $5.9 million sale, followed closely by LeBron’s $5.2 million rookie patch autograph. But what about MJ? He might not be on top of this list, but rest assured, he ain’t sweating.

Last year, PSA’s president spoke to FOS that Michael Jordan was their company’s most-graded athlete across all sports. Ryan Hoge also highlighted that the period from 2022 and 2023 had more than 350,000 combined submissions of memorabilia only for the Bulls legend. When the young stars in Curry and LeBron dominate the card sales, His Airness set a record with his game-worn jersey. The highest item was his jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals brought in $10.1 million and was sold in January 2023.

For comparison, James’ Finals jersey record is $3.6 million. That’s why one can understand Shaquille O’Neal‘s interest in coming back and starting to collect. With already connections in the NBA space, it won’t be hard for him to add a few rare pieces to his collection. But nobody is touching the collection that his partner, Tim Banazek, currently owns.