Shaquille O'Neal
Celebrity named among those with ties to FTX
- Entries
- 9
- On the record
- 2
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Jun 11, 2025
The record
Shaquille O'Neal's public record is mostly a Hall of Fame basketball career and, since his retirement, a run of investor suits over his crypto promotions. The Orlando Magic took him first overall in the 1992 draft. Over 19 seasons with six teams he won four championships, three with the Lakers and one with Miami, was the league's Most Valuable Player in 2000, a three-time Finals MVP and a 15-time All-Star, according to the Associated Press.
The court record centers on Astrals, a Solana-based NFT project he promoted. In August 2024 a federal judge in Miami let investors' unregistered-securities claim proceed against him, finding they had plausibly alleged that the Astrals and Galaxy tokens were securities and that he acted as a seller, while dismissing a claim that he was a control person. The court approved an $11 million class settlement in April 2025, which states it is not an admission of wrongdoing.
A separate class action over his promotion of the FTX exchange moved toward a close in June 2025, when he agreed to pay $1.8 million without admitting wrongdoing, subject to court approval. The deal also bars him from seeking reimbursement from the FTX bankruptcy estate. O'Neal said in 2022 that he was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial, and his lawyers said they were pleased to have the matter behind them.
Roles and honours on the record
- 1992-1996 Center, Orlando Magic, first overall pick of the 1992 draft source
- 1996-2004 Center, Los Angeles Lakers, before a 2004 trade to Miami; later played for Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston source
- 2016 Member of the 10-member Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2016 source
- 2023-2025 Defendant, Harper v. O'Neal, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, No. 23-cv-21912 source
Every entry, newest first
- Reported
Named in the Wall Street Journal's headline on celebrities with ties to FTX. Investors sue Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen over FTX promotion
Stories in this file
.jpg){kind=link}
The record, entry by entry
- 1992 Official The Orlando Magic drafted him No. 1 overall; in four seasons there he was 1993 Rookie of the Year, an All-Star each year and led the team to its first NBA Finals in 1995. Associated Press via WNDU
- 2000 Official He was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player; across his career he appeared in six NBA Finals and was Finals MVP three times. Associated Press via The Washington Times
- 2011-06-01 Official He retired after 19 seasons, and NBA Commissioner David Stern issued a statement calling him literally and figuratively an NBA giant and thanking him for what he had meant to the league. NBA, Commissioner's statement
- 2016-04-04 Official He was announced as part of the 10-member Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2016, alongside Allen Iverson and Yao Ming. ESPN report
- 2024-01-05 Official The Magic announced they would retire his No. 32 on February 13, 2024, the first number the franchise had retired; the Lakers retired his No. 34 in 2013 and the Heat his No. 32 in 2016. Associated Press via WNDU
- 2024-08-16 Ruled Judge Federico Moreno dismissed claims on Astrals purchases made on or before May 23, 2022 as time-barred and found O'Neal was not a control person, but let the unregistered-securities claim proceed against him as a seller. U.S. District Court, S.D. Fla., order on motion to dismiss, No. 23-cv-21912 (CourtListener copy)
- 2025-04-08 Ruled The court entered its order approving the class settlement with O'Neal and the Astrals companies, which created a fund of up to $11,000,000 and states that it is not evidence or an admission of any liability or wrongdoing. U.S. District Court, S.D. Fla., order approving class-action settlement, No. 23-cv-21912 (CourtListener copy)
- 2025-06-11 Reported He agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle a proposed class action over his FTX promotion without admitting wrongdoing, subject to the judge's approval, CNBC reported; his counsel said they were pleased to have the matter behind them. CNBC report
Documents
- Order granting in part and denying in part motion to dismiss, Harper v. O'Neal, S.D. Fla. No. 23-cv-21912 (Aug. 16, 2024)
- Order approving class-action settlement, Harper v. O'Neal, S.D. Fla. No. 23-cv-21912 (entered Apr. 8, 2025)
- NBA Commissioner David Stern's statement on his retirement (2011)
- CNBC report on the $1.8 million FTX settlement (2025)