BROOKLYN — AJ Dybantsa, the high school phenom who dunked the sun in a Red Bull ad, came back to earth Tuesday night to shake Commissioner Adam Silver’s hand. He doesn’t have an agent. His dad, Ace, handled the process, and the Wizards made him the No. 1 overall pick. Standing beside them was a familiar face: Leonard Armato, last seen on an NBA draft stage in a bear hug with Shaquille O’Neal 34 years ago.
Armato just set an unlikely record
No one else has gone that long between representing the first name off the board. He doesn’t pound his chest about it. Armato makes clear that Ace Dybantsa calls the shots, AJ is the brand, and he’s just there for advice and whatever wisdom he picked up the last time he walked this road — back when he did it with the guy who blocked the sun instead of dunking it.
That was Shaq Diesel, and O’Neal himself made this full-circle moment possible.
In 1992, O’Neal went No. 1 to the Magic. Armato was already the agent for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon — two of the most skilled big men in league history, both low maintenance. Shaq was a different beast. He could only rep him by going through Shaq’s stepfather, Philip Harrison, a military drill sergeant who insisted on meeting eyeball to eyeball at Fort Sam Houston.
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Armato flew in and won them over with a plan straight out of Hollywood: a record deal with Jive, a starring role in “Blue Chips,” and IP with Reebok before Michael Jordan had IP at Nike. Shaq’s Dunk Man logo was born. Three decades later, Shaq is president of Reebok basketball.
How Shaq set up the reunion
O’Neal crossed paths with Ace and AJ Dybantsa about two years ago while scouting sneaker prospects at a high school tournament in Atlanta. To get to AJ, Shaq had to go through Ace. That got him nostalgic, reminded him of Sarge, and sent him to the phone.
“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.
Two minutes later, he got a call from Ace, a native of the Congo. Ace opened with: “Shaq told me you taught him everything he knows. We don’t want to hire an agent. But we need someone to advise us through this process.”
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Armato had left traditional agency behind
After Shaq, he rode off to become a brand builder. Armato founded the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and turned Misty May and Kerri Walsh into household names, with women earning equal prize money for the first time. He launched Skechers’ performance division. He helped create Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. Armato started his own firm, Management Plus Enterprises. He represented zero NBA players for more than 30 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 when AJ’s talent was still word of mouth in high school. Armato helped set up a Red Bull NIL deal. He had already turned Shaq’s son Shareef O’Neal into NIL athlete of the year. He helped steer AJ to high school NIL deals at Utah Prep and a reported $7 million package at BYU that included a payday from Nike.
AJ’s approach: suit, laptop, and no fear
When the young player went to the combine, he decided to wear a suit and tie to team interviews — the only player to do so. He even carried a laptop. Armato suggested a pen and notepad. AJ said no, that’s more authentic to him.
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He later told the NBA office that AJ might want to broadcast someday. The league asked him to be a correspondent for Game 4 of the Finals. A couple hours before tip-off, AJ asked Victor Wembanyama, “Why don’t you get the ball in deeper instead of taking 3s all the time?” Wembanyama replied, “Not that easy.”
Brands could sense that fearlessness. Ace and Armato decided the deals should be about quality, not quantity. AJ now has three: with Fanatics, Red Bull (which had him dunk the sun and is following him for a documentary), and a new lucrative reboot with Nike that includes IP — just like Armato did with Shaq.
“He’s going to be the face of Nike, the future of Nike basketball,” Armato said.
AJ has his own logo now — “Starboy” — his answer to Dunk Man from 34 years ago. It’s more of a déjà vu than a draft.