BROOKLYN -- AJ DYBANTSA, who dunked the sun in a recent Red Bull ad, came back down to earth Tuesday night to shake ADAM SILVER‘s hand.
He doesn’t have an agent; he has his dad -- appropriately named ACE -- who methodically molded AJ into the No. 1 overall pick of the Wizards. But there’s a familiar face alongside them, a family advisor who, last seen on an NBA Draft-night stage, was in a tight bear hug with SHAQUILLE O’NEAL.
Time flies, or maybe it doesn’t, because LEONARD ARMATO just set an outlier NBA record: most years in between representing the first name off the board.
As is Armato’s way -- pounding the pavement instead of pounding his chest -- he makes it clear that Ace Dybantsa is the decision maker, AJ is the brand and he is just standing by for his opinion and any wisdom gained from his journey down this same winding road 34 years ago. Back when he did it with someone who blocked the sun instead of dunking it: Shaq Diesel.
It is so much of a full circle moment that O’Neal himself made this all happen. Back in 1992, O’Neal went No. 1 overall to the Magic at a time Armato was the agent to the stars, or at least to star 7-footers. His marquee clients had been KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR and HAKEEM OLAJUWON two of the most skilled big men in league history who also happened to be low maintenance. But O’Neal was a whole other beast (and after he started breaking backboards, that’s exactly what they labeled him), and the only way Armato could rep Shaq was to go through his drill sergeant stepfather PHILIP HARRISON.
Harrison was military to the core, not one to waste words, and, when Armato called him the first time, Harrison told him, “I don’t like to talk to people over the phone. Only eyeball to eyeball. Come down to Fort Sam Houston, Tuesday, 1900 hours, if you’re going to be there, tell me. If not, we’ll say goodbye.”
Armato flew in and won them both over -- Sarge & Son -- with a plan straight out of Hollywood. He would get Shaq a deal with Jive Records, a starring role in the film “Blue Chips” and IP with Reebok at a time MICHAEL JORDAN didn’t even have IP at Nike. Shaq’s Dunk Man logo was born, and, three decades later, Shaq’s logo should be Rich Man, considering he’s a business savant who’s currently president of Reebok basketball.
So that’s how O’Neal crossed paths with Ace and AJ Dybantsa just over two years ago while scouting sneaker prospects at a premier high school tournament in Atlanta. To get to AJ, Shaq had to go through Ace, which got him nostalgic, which reminded him of Sarge, which had him on the phone to Armato.
“Well, Shaq just called me one day and said, ‘There’s this guy that reminds me of my dad and he’s got a son who is a great player -- and I want you to do for them what you did for me,’” Armato said.
About two minutes later, Armato fielded a call from Ace, a native of the Congo who, according to Armato, opened with, “Shaq told me you taught him everything he knows, and we’d like to talk to you. We don’t want to hire an agent because the world has changed a lot. We don’t really need an agent. But we need someone to advise us through this process.”
Ace reminded Armato of Sarge, all right -- “A more polished version," he said -- and Ace was right about it being a whole new world. After Shaq, Armato The Agent had ridden off into the sunset to become Armato The Brand Builder. He’d founded the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, where he turned MISTY MAY and KERRI WALSH into household names, where for the first time women were earning the same prize money as men. He had a stint launching Skechers’ performance division, the sneaker the Knicks’ OG ANUNOBY wore when he tipped in that game-winner in the NBA Finals. He ideated OSCAR DE LA HOYA’s Golden Boy Promotions. He founded his own business, Management Plus Enterprises (MPE). He represented exactly zero NBA players.
There was little point, anyway, not the way the league’s salary structure was arranged. Player contracts were slotted now -- which is why Ace and AJ could handle it with their eyes closed -- and Armato simply stopped recruiting players. For 30-plus years.
“I’m not a traditional agent by any stretch,” he said. “I’m more about brand. I’m more of a builder of IP.”
The Dybantsas gave him a shot -- at a time AJ’s talent was still word of mouth in high school -- and Armato helped set them up with a Red Bull NIL. Armato had previously turned Shaq’s son SHAREEF O’NEAL into NIL athlete of the year -- so this was up his alley. He helped steer AJ to NIL deals in high school at Utah Prep and a reported $7M deal at BYU that included a payday from Nike.
When AJ turned pro and headed to the combine, Armato hoped everyone would see the AJ that Ace had built. Ace and his wife CHELSEA (from Jamaica) always made AJ take out the trash or do his own laundry -- to the point AJ’s mantra became, “Earn, not given.” So, on his own, AJ decided to wear a suit and tie to his NBA team interviews -- the only player at the combine to do so -- and even carried in a laptop.
“I’m going to ask them questions," AJ said.
“AJ, you can go in with a pen and a notepad -- you don’t need a laptop,” Armato said.
“No, no, no, no -- I’m more digital,” AJ said. “That’s more authentic to me.”
Armato later told the NBA office AJ might want to be a broadcaster someday. So the league asked him to be a correspondent for Game 4 of the Finals. A couple hours before tip-off, AJ asked the Spurs’ VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, “Why don’t you get the ball in deeper instead of taking 3s all the time?”
“Not that easy,” Wembanyama said.
Clearly, AJ had no fear, and brands could sense it, too.
Ace continued to serve as the lead voice while he and Armato decided AJ’s deals should be about quality, not quantity. There are now three overall: one with Fanatics, one with Red Bull (which had him dunk the sun and is currently following him for a documentary) and a new lucrative reboot with Nike which -- just like Armato did with Shaq -- includes IP.
“He’s going to be the face of Nike, the future of Nike basketball,” Armato said.
AJ even has his own logo now -- “Starboy” -- his answer to Armato and Shaq’s Dunk Man from 34 long years ago.
This is more of a Déjà vu than a draft.
