Shaquille O'Neal buys a stake in the Sacramento Kings

Sam Amick | USA TODAY Sports

Shaquille O'Neal — "Dr. O'Neal," if you ask him — is hoping to help cure the Sacramento Kings.

As the Kings continue their image makeover that was sparked by the late May sale of the team to Vivek Ranadive, they have made a big and bold move by adding O'Neal as a minority owner. The TNT analyst once gleaned pleasure in deriding the Kings, whom he owned in a very different way when his Lakers thrice knocked their rival out of the playoffs en route to titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Now his joy will come from seeing one of the league's worst-performing franchises turn things around.

His involvement will begin in earnest today, as O'Neal — who has a doctorate degree in education from Barry University in Miami — plans to meet with Kings players and coaches in Sacramento before having dinner with franchise centerpiece and new protégé DeMarcus Cousins.

"What interested me in this deal is the new vision, the new Kings, the new everything," said O'Neal, who so famously deemed the Kings the "Queens" at the start of the 2002-03 season. "I've always wanted to be part of something like this. ... It's going to be great."

The timing couldn't be better for the Kings, who took exception to ESPN's recent franchise rankings that pegged them last among 122 organizations in the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB. The analysis was based on the team's woeful recent history and lackluster fan support, as the Kings not only missed the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons under the Maloof family that owned them previously but were on the edge of relocation to Anaheim and Seattle before Ranadive bought the team to keep it in town.

The new regime, which is headed by the Silicon Valley software tycoon in Ranadive and also includes 24-Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov, is determined to change perceptions and has even crafted a marketing campaign aimed at dispelling the unwelcome ESPN distinction.

"Hey ESPN ... Nice Airball," one of their promotional posters for a Nov. 15 home game that will be aired by ESPN reads. "New era. New swagger. The best fans await you."

USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick talks Shaq and the Kings USA TODAY Sports' NBA insider Sam Amick talks to News10's Sean Cunningham about the Sacramento Kings' new minority owner, Shaquille O'Neal, and the impact he will have on the team and NBA.

Of the unflattering attention, Ranadive told USA TODAY Sports: "We are No. 1 in new ticket sales; we're probably No. 1 in sponsorships. We have a whole list of No. 1s we can tell you about. We've sold more tickets than all of the other teams, so that speaks for itself. ... They did their study based on last year, and who wants to read yesterday's newspaper?"

True to form, O'Neal — who so accurately describes himself as "very quotatious" on his Twitter profile — was quick with the fearless sound bite as he discussed his new endeavor.

"Worst is at the bottom, which means you can't get no worser," he said of the Kings' ranking. "There's no such thing as worser, which means we can only get better. And we will get better. Once that new arena comes, once that new downtown is up, once we have a conversation with the players and get everybody to step up, they'll be knocking on the door.

"Hopefully Vivek, with Mr. Mastrov and myself and the team and organization can get it back to where it used to be. I'm telling you these new plans, oh my. You're going to be like, 'Sacramento is doing what?' That's what we want people to say."

O'Neal is hardly the first high-profile addition to an NBA team's ownership group. Michael Jordan, who is now the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, became a minority owner of the Washington Wizards in 2000 before he had to divest his interest a year later because he returned to the court. Music mogul Jay Z was a minority owner of the Brooklyn Nets before divesting his interest in order to become a sports agent in mid-April, and part of his share was bought by former Nets point guard Jason Kidd, who is now the team's head coach.

Singer Justin Timberlake and NFL quarterback Peyton Manning became minority owners of the Memphis Grizzlies last October, while Magic Johnson was a part owner of the Lakers before selling his share in 2011 and later becoming part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Odd as this partnership might seem, it was the friendship between O'Neal and Mastrov that led to the pairing. O'Neal was a regular at Mastrov's gyms during his playing days in Los Angeles, when he was awed by the concept of a gym that never closed.

"Think about it – a 24-hour place where you can go and work out?" he thought at the time. "I would've never thought of that."

Yet when O'Neal was traded to the Heat in 2004, there were no 24-Hour Fitness clubs to be found. The two went to work changing the fitness landscape.

"We built a lot of 24 Hour Fitnesses in the Miami, South Florida area," O'Neal said. "So when Mark introduced me to Vivek, we had a wonderful conversation. I've always prided myself by interacting with great leaders and great businessmen."

When O'Neal, Ranadive and Mastrov met for dinner in Silicon Valley in late June, it appeared the focus of O'Neal's Kings-related efforts would be mentoring Cousins in a consultant-type role. He even vowed at the time to help turn Cousins into "the best big man in the game." Yet the O'Neal appeal, apparently, went way beyond his ability to help their young player.

According to a March 13 report in Car and Driver magazine, O'Neal is — according to Q Score president Steve Levitt, still far more recognizable to young American adult males than the average celebrity (70% to 29%). According to Twitaholic, O'Neal —who was one of the first celebrities to begin using Twitter in 2008 — has the fifth-biggest following on the social media platform among current or former athletes. At 7.5 million, he trails soccer players Cristiano Ronaldo (21.3 million), Kaka (16.7 million) and Neymar Junior (8.4 million), while also coming in behind LeBron James (9.7 million).

Shaq's larger-than-life profile, in other words, is alive and well. And for a small-market organization that certainly lacks buzz, it's quite a boon.

"I wanted to find somebody to add to the ownership group who truly represented 21st century basketball, who represented my vision of NBA 3.0, which is having an understanding of technology, wanting to build a global brand and being global in their thinking, and really being committed to having an impact in the community," Ranadive, the former Golden State Warriors minority owner who heads the group that bought the team for a league-record valuation of $535 million, told USA TODAY Sports. "The most iconic person on the planet was Dr. O'Neal. So Mark Mastrov is good friends with Dr. O'Neal, and Dr. O'Neal and I spent a day at my house shooting hoops, hanging out with my kids, and just talking about how to create the franchise of the 21st century.

"We talked about what the forces were that were shaping the 21st century, we talked about technology, we talked about new companies that we were looking at, and based on that we came to a conclusion that we could — what my (late) friend Steve Jobs likes to say — put a dent in the universe if Dr. O'Neal became my partner."

The vision that has O'Neal so enthused includes a new, $448 million arena that they hope will spark a downtown revival in Sacramento and is expected to be completed in 2016. And while an anti-arena group is continuing to gather signatures with the hopes of forcing an arena vote on the June ballot because of the $258 million public subsidy, O'Neal and his new co-workers remain confident their plans will be put in place. The Kings have played in Arco Arena since 1988, and — per Ranadive's agreement to buy the team — must have the new building in place by 2017 or the NBA can seize ownership and facilitate new ownership, likely in a new city.

O'Neal, always the creative pitchman, already is inspired by the project.

"I've seen the (arena) plans," O'Neal said. "I don't know if they've talked to you about the plans, but woo-wee. That's all I can say: woo-wee. Oh, you know what? That's our new slogan: 'Sacramento: woo-wee.'

"It's going to be sort of like a mini L.A. Live, and it's going to be great for Sacramento, especially when they build the arena. ... If we put our heads together and hire the right people, I know that this arena is going to be the best arena in the country."

O'Neal knows that some Kings fans may be reluctant to accept him, what with their sorted past and all, but is ready to start his fascinating new experience nonetheless.

"(The Lakers and Kings) did have some great battles, and fans need to understand that those (Sacramento Queens) comments that I made and all that stuff, it was for them," he said. "I've always been an expert at marketing, so a Laker-vs. Sacramento Kings, I wanted it to be the most watched game ever.

"But right now, (the Kings are) down, and they have new ownership, and we're going to bring it back up. It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be a destination place that people want to see."