“We did it, 19 years, baby. Thank you very much. That’s why I’m telling you first. I’m about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon,” Shaq said on Twitter.
O’Neal began his glittering career at the Orlando Magic in 1992 as the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. He moved to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996 and where he won three successive championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002 alongside another future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant.
Shaq was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004 and won a fourth championship in 2006 before short and unsuccessful spells at the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers. Shaq has been at the Celtics since last year and but his contribution to the Celtics’ run to the playoffs was limited because of nagging injuries.
O’Neal won the NBA Most Valuable Player, the All-Star game MVP and the NBA Finals MVP awards in 2000 among a host of other honours in his career.
Shaq also ventured into showbiz appearing in a number of films and releasing several rap albums. For many O’Neal was the most dominant big man in NBA history and was without argument one of the most entertaining and interesting athletes of his generation, a larger than life character.
“I took Magic’s smile. I took Michael’s smooth, friendly personality and the all-out way he played the game. I took Patrick Ewing’s ferocity. I took Hakeem Olajuwon’s dominance. And from Muhammad Ali, I took his ability to talk a lot of (stuff) and back it up,” just one of many Shaq quotes. A legend.
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