Seattle may still be without the beloved Sonics, but a huge NBA star now has ties to the city in a roundabout way.
With the news Tuesday that Amazon is acquiring Ring, the maker of video doorbells and other smart technologies, the tech giant appears to also be acquiring Shaquille O’Neal, the longtime basketball star who also happens to be a Ring spokesman.
Over the years, the four-time NBA champ has endorsed a wide range of products and services. A dedicated page on the Ring website bills the 7-footer as a defender of the “home court” for customers who use the company’s products. O’Neal even shows off one of his championship rings — synergy!
“Shaq is more than just a big person with a big personality,” Ring says on the Shaq page. “Just like Ring, he wants to reduce crime in neighborhoods. So we drafted Sheriff Shaq to lead our team and to pass along some savings to you!”
Whether O’Neal remains a pitchman for Ring under Amazon remains to be seen. The company’s founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, proved himself to be fond of the advertising spotlight with an appearance in an Amazon Alexa commercial during this year’s Super Bowl.
But O’Neal is already a fan of one Seattle tech institution — GeekWire. We’ve had our laughs with the big man during his appearances at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in years past, where he told us he was the tallest geek in the world.
O’Neal and fellow “Inside the NBA” analysts Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith are regulars at CES.
O’Neal has previously told GeekWire that he appreciates “dummy-proof” tech and that he’s a fan of all the “technology guys” who make stuff one click, two click or Bluetooth enabled. He said he wasn’t into starting his own company, and that he wasn’t an expert on anything except basketball, being funny and being a nice guy.
