Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( shə-KEEL; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( SHAK), is an American former professional basketball player, and sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. Nicknamed, among others, "Diesel", he is a 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) and 325-pound (147 kg) center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a four-time NBA champion, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and the 2000 NBA MVP. O'Neal is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball centers of all time.

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); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 9th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. O'Neal was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. Due to his ability to dunk the basketball and score from close range, O'Neal also had a 58.2% career field goal percentage and led the league in field goal percentage ten times. 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. In October 2021, O'Neal was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum, and his second, Shaq Fu: Da Return, going gold. O'Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as Diesel. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq. He was a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2022 and is the general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League. He is also the general manager of the Sacramento State Hornets men's basketball team.

In a November 10, 1999, game against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were ejected. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal. On March 6, 2000, O'Neal's 28th birthday, he scored a career-high 61 points to go along with 23 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123–103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. O'Neal's 61-point game was the last game in NBA history that a player scored 60 or more points without hitting a 3-pointer until Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 64 points against the Indiana Pacers on December 13, 2023.

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