NBA Free Agent Rumors: Shaquille O'Neal Should Just Retire
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal's journey to NBA superstardom began on March 6, 1972 in a Newark, New Jersey hospital. Son of Lucille O'Neal and Joseph Toney, Shaq's early years projected a future of anything but a future NBA superstar.
Abandoned by Shaquille's drug-addicted father, Lucille O'Neal quickly adapted herself to the situation by taking on multiple jobs to support her family. However, regardless of her struggles, Lucille always kept raising her children as priority No. 1—warning Shaquille of the dangers of street life and keeping a strict household if he stepped out of line.
When Lucille met Phillip "Sarge" Harrison, a U.S. Army Sergeant and Shaq's adoptive father, the reins on Shaquille pulled tighter.
Perhaps the fear of disappointing Sarge or his mother kept Shaq from the undoubted allure of the Newark street game. Or perhaps it was Newark's chapter of the Boys and Girls Club of America, as O'Neal told Parade Magazine in a 2006 interview:
"It gave me something to do,” he says. “I’d just go there to shoot. I didn’t even play on a team. It always gave me somewhere to come. I could do my homework there. It gave me a lot of opportunities.”
Regardless of whether you want to credit good parenting or the Boys and Girls Club for O'Neal's continued avoidance of trouble, one thing is certain—the created product was legendary.
Following a move to San Antonio, Shaquille began receiving national notoriety for his freakish combination of size, athleticism, and toughness on the basketball court. During his two years at Robert G. Cole High School, the O'Neal-led basketball team compiled a 68-1 record and won the Texas state championship during Shaq's senior season.
While already gigantic in a physical sense, Shaq's larger-than-life personality truly began taking shape upon his arrival at LSU. Unburdened by the constant weight of a military household, O'Neal's personality as well as his game blossomed to an unthinkable level—making two All-American teams and winning two SEC Player of the Year awards in his two seasons in the Bayou state.
Following his decision to declare for the 1992 NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic took the consensus No. 1 overall prospect with the first pick in the draft.
O'Neal instantly proved he was the correct pick from the moment he stepped on an NBA floor. The backboard breaking , shot blocking, offensively overpowering center became the first rookie NBA All-Star since Michael Jordan in 1985.
Team success came one season later with the addition of guard Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. The two quickly became the trendy pick as the challengers to Jordan's Bulls' throne and even defeated them in the 1995 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals en route to Shaq's first NBA Finals appearance.
Despite their on-the-court success together, Shaq and Penny's off-the-court relationship foreshadowed a troubling pattern throughout O'Neal's career of feuding with fellow stars over the spotlight.
Shaq, the three-time All-Star, felt as if his second banana was trying to usurp his power as Orlando's alpha dog. Penny openly questioned Shaq's entertainment motives, wondering if O'Neal actually put basketball number one on his priority list.
(Note: Does this sound at all familiar to anyone?)
Following an injury-riddled 1996 season, Shaq bolted the tense situation in Orlando and signed with Los Angeles Lakers—a move that would drastically alter the post-Jordan NBA and rejuvenate basketball in Los Angeles.
Motivated by the criticism from Orlando in the wake of his departure, Shaq took his play to a level of dominance not seen by a center since Wilt Chamberlain in the 1960's.
Team success came slower in Los Angeles than in Orlando, but when guard Kobe Bryant developed into one of the NBA's top ten players, the Shaqobe dynasty began.
Starting with O'Neal's first MVP season in 2000, the Lakers won three consecutive titles—a feat never accomplished in the storied franchise's history.
Many wondered aloud whether any combination of players could stop this unstoppable Lakers force. And considering Shaq's status as the game's unquestioned best player, Bryant's status as one of the best second banana's in NBA history, and the litany of veteran role players surrounding them, you can see why most experts thought the Shaqobe dynasty had unlimited potential.
Well, by now, we all know the story as to why the Lakers dynasty came to an abrupt halt.
Whether you subscribe to O'Neal's notion that Kobe was a me-first ball-hog who wanted "his own team" regardless of team success or Kobe's notion that Shaq was an out-of-shape diva who cared more about his public persona than basketball, we can all agree on one thing: The argument is a dead horse. And we have beat it. To death. Repeatedly.
Faced with the monumental decision of "Shaq or Kobe" following the 2004 NBA Finals, Lakers owner Jerry Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak decided Bryant was the future of the franchise and shipped O'Neal to the Miami Heat.
Two stellar seasons and one championship ring later, Shaq could rightfully ask the Kobe Bryant and the world how his, um, behind tastes.
Despite his early successes in Miami, the years of pounding began catching up to O'Neal beginning in the 2006-2007 season, with injuries and a marked decline in skills leaving many wondering whether the game has passed by its former best player.
Following a trade to Phoenix, Shaq's career went through a seeming renaissance during the 2008-2009 season. However, many theorized that O'Neal placed proving he wasn't washed up over the team's success and he was shipped to Cleveland in an unsuccessful attempt by Cavs management to appease LeBron James.
Now, for the first time in 14 years, Shaquille O'Neal is a free agent.
In 1996, O'Neal was a 24 year-old superstar with every team in the league groveling at his feet.
In 2010, O'Neal is a washed-up 38-year-old center with balky knees and a questionable reputation as a teammate who seemingly cannot find one serious suitor for his services.
Shaq has made behind-the-scenes overtures to the Mavericks, Celtics, Heat, Hawks, and Spurs but has been rebuffed every step of the way.
And, really, who can blame them?
While Shaq showed flashes of his former brilliance at times last season, it's obvious to most observers that O'Neal is a shell of his former self. As O'Neal vacillated between being a putrid, paint-clogging distraction and stout role player, one cannot help but make a mental correlation between O'Neal's current state and the hallowed case of Willie Mays as a New York Met.
Only, unlike Mays, the general public hasn't yet noticed the extent of Shaq's massive skill decline.
That is why the only correct answer to the "Where should Shaq go this offseason?" debate is into a studio with Chris Webber and Charles Barkley.
Under normal circumstances, I would consider a column like this another case of the media valuing a player's "legacy" more than the player himself.
However, Shaquille O'Neal is not a normal player.
A quality about Shaq which has always been underrated is his self-awareness. Perhaps, growing up in a military household, Shaquille's parents warned him that any misdeed would reflect poorly on Sarge, and that awareness carried over to his adult life.
Because of this awareness and his boisterous personality, Shaq became the media's darling throughout his illustrious 17-year career by providing fantastic sound bites and giving plenty of them.
However, unlike many fellow media hounds of this generation, Shaq has always shown a propensity to know what to say, how to say it, when to say it, who to say it about, and to say it all with a charming smile.
Other than his media relationship, O'Neal's self-awareness also extends to his legacy.
In fact, O'Neal has often used the media as a tactic for enhancing his all-time reputation. You don't think he called himself the greatest just for laughs, did you?
Yet, here we are with the world's most self-aware athlete desperately searching for a shot on a contender—another legend afraid to leave the limelight.
And as he continues to hang on, you have to wonder how much damage Shaq is doing to his legacy.
Will the general public eventually place O'Neal with names like Mays, Namath, Ali, and Rice as greats who hung too long?
Not if you ask Shaq.
"The biggest thing that will define my legacy is how I’ve done it, and what I’ve done, and who I am. I’m a weird big guy. Doing rapping, doing movies. Do a lot of stuff. But always do things the right way...Changed three different franchises around. This is a guy who they would have secret meetings about to change the rules. So, that’s going to be my legacy: the most dominant player ever."
Let's just hope for his and our sake, he continues doing things "the right way" and rides off in the sunset with his legacy and dignity intact.
