Shaquille O’Neal
While he’s no longer hitting the hardwood, Shaquille O’Neal still casts a massive shadow over the NBA landscape.
After towering over the NCAA competition at LSU, O’Neal entered into the 1992 NBA Draft and joined the Orlando Magic as the first overall pick. Shaq didn’t miss a beat and quickly emerged as a dominant force in the paint. A championship, however, never materialized, and the big man eventually left for Hollywood.
With the Lakers, O’Neal famously teamed up with Kobe Bryant. While the two men didn’t always see eye-to-eye, they did earn three NBA titles together in Los Angeles. The Diesel then returned to Florida, where he’d win a fourth ring with the Miami Heat, before bouncing around the league and ultimately retiring in 2011.
In addition to his on-court exploits — Shaq still stands tall as one of the greatest big men to ever play the game — the center hasn’t slowed down in retirement. He’s a prolific investor, a celebrity pitchman, and a part of TNT’s NBA coverage.
- Former teams: Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics
- Position: Center
- Accomplishments: Four-time NBA champion, three-time NBA Finals MVP, 1993 Rookie of the Year, 2000 NBA MVP, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016
- Drafted: No. 1 overall in 1992 by the Orlando Magic
- Shooting hand: Right
- Nicknames: Shaq, Diesel, The Big Aristotle
Read the latest about Shaquille O’Neal’s playing career and history:
Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz lost early in the playoffs yet again this year. So, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal recently issued an urgent challenge for the star guard.
Shaquille O’Neal helped Michael Jordan off the ground and was never able to intimidate him afterward.
Shaquille O’Neal finally understands why his trophies always disappeared.
The death of Len Bias had quite an impact on Shaquille O’Neal and his father.
Shaquille O’Neal has millions of dollars in the bank, but he’s not one to rest on his laurels. It turns out that there’s a personal reason for that work ethic.
The Los Angeles Lakers need a new head coach after letting Frank Vogel go, and Shaquille O’Neal recently discussed potentially taking the position himself but for the right price.
While he’s only three years into his NBA career, Ja Morant is already receiving some legendary comparisons from the likes of Shaquille O’Neal.
Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t want people comparing the duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden to him and Kobe Bryant.
Charles Barkley and Shaq are popular analysts, but they sounded rather hypocritical when discussing Kyrie Irving’s middle finger.
A look at how every NBA scoring champion’s team fared in the postseason.
