Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal is a former professional basketball player, who is currently a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA on TNT. He played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). At 7 ft 1 in tall and 325 pounds, O’Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. After playing college basketball for the LSU Tigers, O’Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O’Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004 and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007–2008 season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O’Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season. O’Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010–11 season before retiring. O’Neal’s individual accolades include the 1999–2000 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000). O’Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017.