Shaquille O’Neal’s Super-Size Florida Mansion Is Back on the Market for $16.5 Million

Janice O'Leary
·3 min read

First listed in 2018 for $28 million, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal’s massive home in Windermere, Fla., was finally sold. But the deal fell through, and the palatial estate is now back on the market for $16.5 million, with a few key updates.

Gone is the ginormous Shaq-sized round bed in the primary bedroom; added is an improved pool area, complete with a summer kitchen, as well as landscaping and minor cosmetic fixes, such as fresh coats of paint and exterior pressure washes.

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But the mansion remains as massive as ever at 31,000 square feet, with a 6,000-square-foot indoor basketball court, 12 bedrooms and 15 baths. Of course, everything about this home was done on a grand scale. The two-story great room alone is more than 1,100 square feet, with its glass walls looking out to the pool and tranquil Lake Butler. The formal dining room, with its handcrafted wood paneling and molding, seats 16. In the kitchen, there’s a Viking six-burner stove, two built-in Wolf steamers, a side-by-side Sub-Zero fridge and freezer plus a second glass-doored fridge and two double-door convection ovens.

Also on the main level are some of the residence’s best amenities: a sound-proofed cinema room; a “gentleman’s room” with game tables, a wet bar, wine fridge and ice maker; a separate, enclosed cedar-planked humidor and wine storage; an aquarium room with a triangular saltwater fish tank; the guest wing with its five en suite bedrooms, great room and bar; and the basketball court.

On the second level, the primary suite is a secluded retreat that takes up a full wing of the estate. The bedroom is 900 square feet and has a private balcony, a drop-down screen for the projector TV and a marble fireplace. The walk-in closet is actually four separate rooms with custom shelving and a center island. Dual bathrooms have jetted showers, and one has a two-person Jacuzzi tub. Four other en suite bedrooms are also on the second level.

Shaq likes his cars, so there’s also a 17-car garage with an attached fitness studio. A second garage houses another nine dream machines, as well as a dance studio and an enclosed recording studio (where *NSYNC is rumored to have recorded some of their first songs).

The property sits on three acres of land in Windermere’s gated neighborhood of Isleworth, a prestigious golfing community with its own string of lakes. It’s in the most secluded section of the neighborhood. While the common amenities offer a lot, so does Shaq’s place. He named his 95-foot pool Shaq-apulco, and it does feel like a private resort out on the terrace with the large hot tub and expansive outdoor kitchen. A tiki-style cabana overlooks the sandy beach on Lake Butler, and there’s 700 feet of lakefront. A dock and boat lift provide direct access to the water.

The NBA star is selling because he spends much more time in Atlanta these days with his job as a sports analyst for TNT, but he told listing agent Benjamin Hillman the things he’ll miss most about this mansion, which he built in 1990, are “those panoramic views of Lake Butler and the fun water activities like riding his wave runners through the chain of lakes in Windermere.”

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