Back Shaquille O'Neal Afrikaans Shaquille O'Neal AN شاكيل أونيل Arabic شاكيل اونيل ARZ شکیل اونیل AZB Шакіл О’Ніл Byelorussian Шакіл О’Ніл BE-X-OLD Шакил О'Нийл Bulgarian শাকিল ও'নিল Bengali/Bangla Shaquille O'Neal BS
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Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (/ʃəˈkiːl/ shə-KEEL; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as Shaq (/ʃæk/ SHAK), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. He is a 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) and 325-pound (147 kg) center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time.[2][3][4][5][6]
After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid a feud between O'Neal and his teammate Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007–2008 season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season.[7] O'Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010–11 season before retiring.[8]
O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award; the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award; 15 All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards; three Finals MVP awards; two scoring titles; 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 9th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. O'Neal was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996.[9] Due to his ability to dunk the basketball and score from close range, O'Neal also ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%) and led the league in field goal percentage ten times.[10] O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.[11] He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017.[12] In October 2021, O'Neal was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[13]
In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. O'Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as Diesel.[14] He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq.[15] He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is the general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League.[16]
- ^ a b "Shaquille O'Neal | Stats". NBA.com. March 6, 1972. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
- ^ "CBS Sports' 50 greatest NBA players of all time: Where do LeBron, Curry rank?". CBS Sports. February 17, 2017. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "All-Time #NBArank: Shaq comes in at No. 9". ESPN. February 9, 2016. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "SLAM 500 Greatest NBA Players of All Time | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ Bailey, Andy (September 25, 2019). "NBA All-Time Player Rankings: Top 10 Centers". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ Bailey, Andy (June 18, 2024). "Ranking the Top 50 NBA Playoff Performers of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- ^ Heisler, Mark. "Shaquille O'Neal traded to Cleveland Cavaliers for 3 players, cash". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- ^ Zillgitt, Jeff (August 5, 2010). "Void filled: 15-time All-Star Shaquille O'Neal to Celtics". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ "NBA at 50: Top 50 Players". NBA.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ^ "Shaquille O'Neal NBA & ABA Statistics". Basketball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
- ^ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2016 Announcement presented by Haggar Clothing Company". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. April 4, 2016. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- ^ "Dream Team, Shaq and Kukoc headline 2017 Class of FIBA Hall of Fame Inductees". FIBA.basketball. August 23, 2017. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ "NBA's 75 Anniversary Team Players". NBA.com. December 25, 2021. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
- ^ Greenburg, Zack (July 31, 2018). "How Shaq Became The Biggest DJ On The Planet". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ "Homepage". The Big Podcast with Shaq. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017 – via podcastone.com.
- ^ "Kings Guard Gaming Names Shaquille O'Neal First General Manager". ThePostGame. April 2, 2018. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2018.