Shaquille O'Neal: Saying Goodbye and Thank You to a Friendly Giant
He left the game so much more suddenly than how he came into the league as a 7'1" 300 pound charismatic center from LSU.
Hailing from Newark, New Jersey, Shaquille O'Neal was a giant of a man with just as big a personality. After dominating the league like few centers have ever done, O'Neal announced his retirement in a quick 15 second video yesterday, effectively ending his 19 year career.
The news was not a surprise to anyone, as at 39, father time caught up with him. Injuries and age made O'Neal a shell of his former self, compared to the truly dominant player we saw in years past. To his credit though, he is not going to try and hang on and appears ready to say goodbye to the league he has played for for nearly 20 years.
Basketball fans knew that Shaquille O'Neal was not just any other center both on and off the court when they saw his dominance in college and knew it was only a matter of time before he was selected first in the draft.
The Orlando Magic were the lucky ones to be given the first pick, and in 1992 O'Neal donned the colors of the black, white and blue. It was a franchise changing draft pick that took the Magic who were still a relative NBA unknown into one of the more watched teams in the league.
His time with the Magic peaked with a 1995 NBA finals appearance when Orlando was bested by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets.
Throughout his years in Orlando, he proved himself to be one of the more dominant players in the league. However, his true greatness was seen after he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. Many of us know the impressive stats he put up, but his three championships in L.A. will be the one thing people never forget about.
In his eight seasons in L.A., O'Neal went from one of the more dominant players in the league, to one of the best in NBA history. Together with Kobe Bryant, the duo became one of the best 1-2 combos this league has ever seen, and started a trend that is seen more and more today, where franchise players sign together to create dynamic duos or trios.
All good things come on to an end though and so to did O'Neal's time in L.A. After a feud with Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat and in his second season at South Beach, won his fourth championship.
The true dominance of O'Neal began to slip away the next season when he missed numerous games due to injury and it never quite came back. Despite some success with the Phoenix Suns for two years, he was never the true force from his younger years.
In his last two years in Cleveland and Boston, he was a shell of his former self. Instead of trying to hang around though, he is calling it quits.
When we remember O'Neal, one will obviously have to look at his awe inspiring numbers. His 28,596 points ranks fifth all time, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Despite averaging less than 20 points per game his last six seasons, he still averaged a career 23.7 PPG, ranking him 19th all time. His name is spread out through the record books in terms of rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and more.
But for all his championships, records and accolades, O'Neal will also be remembered for being one of those most charismatic players in sports history, and thankfully, fans will be treated to his unique humor and personality for years to come.
From the day he came into the NBA to the day he retired, we could count on the antics of O'Neal. Whether it was calling himself the "Big Aristotle," sitting as a statue in Boston, or yelling "Can you dig it!", the guy always seemed to love to be in front of a camera.
O'Neal starred in (admittedly bad) movies throughout his career, made music albums, starred in reality shows, appeared in the WWE and has even trained in mixed martial arts.
Outside of entertainment, O'Neal has maintained an interest in law enforcement, becoming a reserve officer in Miami, and has even expressed interest in assisting Orlando citizens struggling with foreclosure.
Moving forward, it's not an if we'll see O'Neal on our TV screens, it's a matter of when. His reality show "Shaq Vs." will almost certainly come back for a third season, and TNT or ESPN will likely bring him in to become an analyst or specialty reporter.
Nevertheless, NBA fans will miss the post game interviews of O'Neal, not to mention the greatness we saw of him for well over a decade. He was possibly the best force at center the game has ever seen while he was at his peak, but unlike many other elite players in sports, he was alright with taking a back seat during his last years.
Many up and coming players can take lessons from Shaq, not just from his on the court dominance, but how he carried himself off of it as well. For sports fans around the world, I thank Shaquille O'Neal for his 19 years in the league, and look forward to seeing what's next from the friendly giant.
