-
Birth Of A Basketball Legend
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal was born to Lucille O'Neal in Newark, New Jersey. Growing up, his father figure was his stepfather Phillip Harrison. His biological father, Joseph Toney, was not in custody of him. His stepfather was a high ranking military officer nicknamed "Sarge" who was very into Army-style discipline. Although his beatings were brutal, Shaq claims that they kept him in line and taught him his lessons.
Shaq lived in Newark for the first ten years of his life. -
Period: to
Shaquille O'Neal
-
Hinesville, Georgia.
Due to Sarge's important role in the Military, the family was required to move around constantly. The first time that Shaq relocated was to Fort Stewart in Hinesville, Georgia. Shaq said that if he had never moved out of Newark then he would not have seen any diversity of culture or change in his life. At the army base in Hinesville, he still manages to get into trouble here and there. Every time he was caught he would get "A Severe Ass Whooping" from his stepfather. -
Shaq moves to Germany
In the spring of 1984, Sarge was called for duty at an army base in Wildflecken, Germany. This is where Shaquille gained an interest in Basketball. One day Shaq went to a basketball clinic which was run by Dale Brown, the coach of Louisiana State University. Dale immediately recognized his style and wanted to keep teaching him. He made sure to keep his eye on Shaq throughout the years with the hopes that he could one day recruit him to the LSU Basketball Team, -
San Anotonio, Texas
Once again the family moved to an army base in San Antonio, Texas. There, Shaq attended Cole High School where he really began to pull ahead with his "balling skills." He starts doing serious training to get in shape and gains popularity among fellow high schoolers. He and his friends still loved making trouble, although by this point he was too big to be beaten by Sarge. -
Shaq Attends LSU
Dale Brown had kept his eye on "The Big Shaqtus" throughout his attendance at Cole High School. He knew Shaq was going to want to be signed with Louisiana State when he was offered a scholarship. At LSU, along with every other place he had lived, Shaq was a big hit. He was the kind of person that everybody wanted to be close with. In two years he made a name for himself and gained country-wide recognition with anybody who was familiar with College Basketball. -
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY
After gaining national notoriety from college basketball, Shaq is the first overall pick in the 1992 Spring NBA draft and gets signed by the the Orlando Magic. In his four years (1992-1996) playing for them, he averaged 27.6 points per game. -
Shaq plays for Lakers
After being injured for the majority of his last season in Orlando, Shaq, now nicknamed "Diesel", signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he plays for the majority of his caeer (6 years, 1996-2004). He notes that himself and Kobe Bryant never got along, and started to "Talk Smack" about each other to the media. In the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers got taken over by the new head coach Phil Jackson, who led the team to three consecutive wins in the 2000, 2001, and 2002 seasons. -
Shaq Gets In trouble for Taco Bell Commercial
After being in the NBA for ten years, Shaq had become a big hit and a public personality. He was invited to do commercials for many companies, most notably Taco Bell. In 1997, he did a commerial depicting his neck stuck sideways as a result of eating too many tacos. It turns out that this outraged people with 'Neck Ailment Syndrome', they believed he was mocking them and they demanded a public appology.
1997 Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsGwPyrSNVE -
Shaq Enrolls in Los Angeles Police Academy
The Big Shaq-Fu had loved the police his whole life. After growing up in the projects of Newark and witnessing a great deal of violent crimes, he felt the need to aid the police in reducing street violence. While living in LA he donated millions of dollars to the LAPD to buy all new police cruisers. In July of 2002, he enrolled in the LAPD SWAT team academy, and passed every level of training except roping down from a helicopter. Weighing in at 374 lbs., He was too heavy to pull himself up. -
Shaq Joins Miami Heat
In July of 2004 Shaquille O'Neal gets traded to the Miami Heat, where he got a big welcoming to the city. In his four years (2004-2008) in Miami, he managed to pull off a fourth championship for himself, the first ever for the Miami Heat. -
Shaq Gets Traded to Phoenix Suns
Shaq plays for the Phoenix Suns for a brief 2008-2009 season. -
Trade to the Cleveland Caveliers
After Shaq's short contract ended with the Suns, he made another one-year deal with the Cleveland Caveliers. This was statistically the lowest point of his career, after being out for two months due to an injured thumb. He continued playing while his thumb was still healing, which did not allow him to reach his full potential. -
Shaq Joins Boston Celtics
By December of 2010, Shaq had made a full recovery and was playing for the Boston Celtics. He had a two year contract for the bare minimum, 2.8 million dollars. He was getting older and just past his prime, so his time with the Celtics was considered inferior to his past years. -
Shaq Is forced to retire
Shaquille O'Neal always dreamed about how he wanted his career to end. He wanted to be rolling down Boyleston Street on a championship duck boat when he dropped the bomb that he was finished with basketball. Instead, he was forced into retirement after a leg injury. He ended his career with:
28,596 career points
13,099 rebounds
4,146 fouls
3,026 assists
2,732 blocks
15 All Star Selections
and 4 championships
