Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (born March 16, 1972), nicknamed Shaq, is an American former basketball player and current analyst for Inside The NBA. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest NBA players and centers of all time, was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1993, won four championships, was the finals MVP from 2000-2002, was the league MVP in 2000, was a 14-time all-NBA selection; and was a 15-time NBA all star.

Early Life[]

Shaquille O'Neal was born on March 16, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey. His biological father, a former high school basketball player, was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. After O'Neal's father was released, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life. O'Neal was instead raised by Philip A. Harrison, a Jamaican army sergeant. O'Neal only met his biological father again in 2016-three years after Harrison's death.

O'Neal came from a tall family; his father was 6'2" and his mother was 6'1". By the time O'Neal was 13, he was already 6'6". Because of his stepfather's military roots, O'Neal was raised as an army brat. After a stint at a military base in Germany, the family settled in San Antonio, Texas.

O'Neal played high school basketball at Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio. He led the team to a 68-1 record in the span of two years. O'Neal also led Cole to a state championship during his senior year. According to O'Neal, he originally wore #33 in honor of Patrick Ewing. His NBA jersey number has switched a number a times, mostly because #33 was already taken.

Education[]

After graduating from high school, O'Neal went to Louisiana State University to study business. While playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, he was a two-time All-American.

O'Neal left college early to pursue his NBA career, but continued his education to fulfill a promise he made to his mother. He got a BA in general studies from LSU in 2000, and an online MBA degree from the University of Phoenix in 2005. After retiring from basketball, O'Neal went to Barry University for an Ed.D in human resource development - which he earned in 2012.

NBA Career[]

O'Neil's NBA career lasted from 1992 to 2011. He is known for his large size (7'1'' and 325 pounds), and his blocking and dunking abilities during his career. He was also briefly a rapper. He is so large and heavy that in his early career, he tended to break the basketball hoops, so then-NBA Commissioner David Stern ordered new ones that were harder to break. He is also so tall that many pictures of him next to people go viral. O'Neal has also said that he is so large, the gorillas freak out when they see him at the zoo.

Orlando Magic (1992-1996)[]

Drafted by the fledgling Orlando Magic in 1992, O’Neil led the team to the NBA Finals in 1995, but they were swept by the Houston Rockets in an upset. The Rockets won their second consecutive NBA title that year and became the first eighth-seed to win a championship, and Hakeem Olajuwon, the star of the Rockets at the time, outscored O'Neil in every way possible.

The next year, O’Neil led the Magic to the playoffs again, despite O’Neil being injured for the first part of the season. The Magic swept the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds, but unfortunately were no match for Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Los Angeles Lakers (1996-2004)[]

After four years with the Magic, O'Neil decided to sign with the Lakers as a free agent. Also in 1996, the Lakers drafted Kobe Bryant. In 1999, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as head coach of the Lakers - Jackson had famously coached the Chicago Bulls during their Michael Jordan-era dynasty. He was also a member of the famous Olympic "Dream Team" in 1994, which saw other NBA greats such as Jordan, Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, and David Robinson.

Threepeat (2000-2002)[]

The prowess of both O'Neil and Bryant on the court would culminate in three consecutive NBA titles from 2000 to 2002, and each year, O'Neil was awarded the Finals MVP.

The Lakers made it to the NBA Finals again in 2004, but lost in five games to the Detroit Pistons.

Feud with Kobe Bryant[]

Despite their success, Bryant had a grudge with O'Neil due to numerous factors. The feud later de-escalated, and after Bryant's tragic death in a helicopter accident in 2020, O'Neil called Bryant the "greatest Laker ever".

Miami Heat (2004-2008)[]

In light of the feud between O'Neil and Bryant, the former was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, whose other star player at the time was Dwayne Wade.

Fourth Championship (2006)[]

The 2006 NBA Finals was the first Finals appearance of both the Heat and the Dallas Mavericks. In the finals, the Heat were considered the underdog against the Mavericks, which at the time were captained by Dirk Nowitzki. However, the Heat ended up winning their first ever title that year, in six games.

Dark Years (2007-2008)[]

The last two years of O'Neil's tenure with the Heat was marred by injuries to both O'Neil and Wade. In addition, O'Neil was later in a feud with Wade, which hurt the team's standing even more. In the end, O'Neil left the team.

Later Career (2008-2011)[]

O'Neil's later career saw him bouncing around in search of a fifth ring. In 2008, he was acquired by the Phoenix Suns, however, he was traded from the Lakers to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009. After O'Neil heard that his former teammate Kobe Bryant now had one more ring than him after the Lakers won the 2009 and 2010 championships, O'Neil decided to sign with their longtime rival, the Boston Celtics in 2010.

O'Neil's last years in the NBA were also marred by injuries as he was getting old, and he eventually announced his retirement at age 39 in 2011, after nineteen years as a player.

Post-NBA Career[]

After retiring from the NBA, O'Neil became an analyst for Inside the NBA, alongside host Ernie Johnson and former players Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith. O'Neil was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Other Activities[]

He has also released rap albums and DJ'd under the stage name "DIESEL", appeared in numerous films, and starred in his own reality shows such as Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaqtin' a Fool. He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is now a general manager of King's Guard Gaming for the NBA 2K League. He is also a spokesperson for companies such as Reebok, Nestle, Gold Bond, Buick, The General, Papa John's, Hulu, Epson, Carnival Cruises, Frosted Flakes, American Express, Vitamin Water, Icy Hot, and more.

SNL[]

While O'Neal has only been on Saturday Night Live as a guest on October 3, 1998, on Saturday Night Live, he was portrayed by Kevin Hart, Jay Pharoah, and Charles Barkley. He is known for going off topic on Inside the NBA, which is also shown in his impressions. He is also a good businessman and spokesperson, known for his deep voice.

He was impersonated by Charles Barkley on January 7, 2012 during the "NBA on TNT "sketch, where Kenan Thompson impersonated Barkley.

He was impersonated by Kevin Hart on December 16, 2017, during the "Inside the NBA" sketch

He was impersonated by Jay Pharoah on the following dates:

May 2, 2015 during Weekend Update
November 21, 2015 during the "Star Wars Auditions" sketch, where he auditioned for the role of Chewbacca

Trivia[]

Inside the NBA ranked Kevin Hart's impression as the best, with Charles Barkley's as second and Jay Pharaoh's as third. This is because in real life O'Neal isn't cross-eyed.
Kevin Hart had to use stilts to portray O'Neal, due to O'Neal's large stature.
Jay Pharoah made a guest appearance as O'Neal at the 2019 NBA Awards.
O'Neal has many nicknames, the most famous one being "Shaq", a shortened version of his name. Other nicknames for O'Neal include "Big Diesel", "The Shaqtus", and "Shaq-Fu".