Amid all the buzz surrounding the NIL-era phenom AJ Dybantsa and his meteoric rise toward the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal’s name keeps surfacing. Around a week ago, the two teamed up for an advertisement for Nutricost, a brand O’Neal endorses.
But their ties go beyond social media interactions and business collaborations. After all, O’Neal helped Dybantsa and his father get in touch with his in-demand former agent and brand guru, Leonard Armato.
How Is Shaquille O’Neal’s Former Agent Helping Build AJ Dybantsa’s Career?
Dybantsa is, in almost every analyst and media member’s prediction, one of the top two picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, with Darryn Peterson being the other contender. Despite the limelight, the 6’9″ forward has no designated agent, manager, or marketing team. His father, Anicet Dybantsa Sr., better known as ‘Ace,’ handles everything.
However, the father-son duo does have a consultant, who also happens to be O’Neal’s former agent and manager. After O’Neal introduced the two parties, they worked together on Dybantsa’s Red Bull partnership and kept the relationship going.
According to the Washington Post, Ace sees Armato as an adviser, but Armato calls himself Dybantsa’s “consigliere.”
“It’s almost like Ace has a company, and I’m sort of the person who serves as the primary adviser for the company,” Armato said, describing his role in Dybantsa’s day-to-day affairs. Occasionally, at Dybantsa’s father’s request, Armato does all the talking in a meeting while Ace sits back and listens. However, the latter always makes the final call.
How Did Leonard Armato Become Dybantsa’s Adviser?
Dybantsa has been making headlines since high school, drawing attention from other schools, agents, and middlemen. Ace Dybantsa alleged that many of those offers came with promises of monetary compensation and not with Dybantsa’s best interests at heart. These experiences pushed him to take his son’s basketball career into his own hands.
But the Dybantsa family put their trust in O’Neal, and the legend did not disappoint.
According to Sportico, Deon Wallace, O’Neal’s childhood friend and youth basketball teammate, approached Ace at his son’s Chick-fil-A Classic Tournament in December 2023. Wallace connected Ace with O’Neal, who promised to offer any support he could.
However, Ace did not immediately go to him for help with the business. There was a brief relationship with Donnell Bruce, who ran a sports management company in Atlanta. It eventually deteriorated as Bruce “was trying to get into my circle but clearly failed,” said Ace.
Also Read: Celtics Superfan AJ Dybantsa Takes Shots at Knicks Over NBA Playoffs Result
O’Neal referred Ace to Armato, who is largely responsible for building the Shaq brand.
“Shaq told me that [Leonard] taught [him] everything that he knew,” Dybantsa said to Sportico in a phone interview. “That was his quote.”
As Dybantsa prepares to join the BYU Cougars for what is expected to be a one-and-done season before the NBA, his representation structure is another sign of how quickly the college sports landscape is changing.
Some of the best talent now opts for controlled, family-driven models rather than handing over responsibility to big-agency teams. Dybantsa’s path may well serve as a blueprint for the future.
