Shaq’s career stats says it all.
Four championship rings, 28,596 career points (5th all time),13,099 rebounds (12th all time) and .582 field goal 
percentage. Three of those championships came in three-peat fashion in 2000, 2001 and 2002 when he was named the NBA Finals MVP all three years while the other came with the Miami Heat in 2006 under coach Pat Riley.
With numbers like these, O’Neal getting into the NBA Hall of Fame is as sure as one of his highlight reel slamdunks.
What a road it was for the 7ft-1, 325 pound dominating center but after 19 NBA seasons it is the end of the road as one of the most charismatic players ever to take the court in the NBA is calling it quits and going into retirement.
Shaq came into the league 19 years ago when he was drafted by the Orlando Magic No. 1 overall in 1992. Paired with Penny Hardaway, the dominant center led the Magic on a run that included a trip to the NBA Finals.
A few years older, Shaquille outgrew Orlando and headed west to Hollywood where he would continue his pursuit of an NBA Championship and dabble in the film business as an actor. It didn’t take long to realize Shaq wasn’t marketable on the big screen but he did leave Los Angeles with a handful of rings and a laundry list of memories.
This season, after playing through injuries in just 37 games with the Celtics, O’Neal averaged only 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds, all lows in his career. It was obvious it was time to move on.
Taking a play out of LeBron James and Mike Tyson’s speaking in the third party book, Big Daddy summed it up in a few words:
“Father Time has caught up with Shaquille O’Neal.”
Yes it has but you will surely be missed.
Used with permission of the author.
Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.
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