Shaquille O’Neal was clueless for months after hanging up his big boots. Grounded by injury, he hardly had any inkling of the game they were playing back then. All he remembers is a restive athlete caught in a commoner’s routine.

“When I left the game it was a too early. Cuz I had a 2-year deal with Boston. So I had a career ending injury. So I didn’t have things set up yet, so for 6 months I was just at the house not doing anything and I would like wake up and be like damn I ain’t got nowhere to go and then I would do stuff I never done.”

Nevertheless, the Los Angeles Lakers retired O’Neal’s No. 34 shirt, and the Miami Heat retired his No. 32 jersey. He is the third player, after Wilt Chamberlain and Pete Maravich, to have his jersey retired by three different teams.

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The Achilles injury forced Shaquille O’Neal to quit

Shaq had a great NBA career, but injuries derailed the end. His Achilles tendon injury left him out for over fifty percent of his last season in the league, which he spent with the Boston Celtics in 2010–11. He then quit basketball. 

Shaq got hurt a lot throughout his career, but the most often in his last seven seasons. Since 2006, he has played less than 60 games every year except for the 2008–09 season when he played 75 games with the Phoenix Suns. 

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And yes, Shaquille O’Neal hurt his toes the most during his long career that spanned decades. With no disrespect to the pain that might have been caused, the buildup and reveal were surprisingly calm.

In a previous show, Shaq told Hart how his most troubling injury was to his toes. Shaq answered Hart by telling him that toes were much more sensitive and painful than fingers. 

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