Shaquille O’Neal is a former NBA player, born on March 6, 1972, in New Jersey. He was the first pick of the 1992 NBA draft, chosen for Orlando Magic on the back of his impressive performances at the Louisiana State University. In his time at Louisiana State, Shaquille O’Neal was a twotime All American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and the NCAA men’s basketball player of the year in 1991.
He is among the tallest and heaviest players to feature in the league. “Shaq” played for 6 teams over his 19-year career.
He spent four years at Orlando and took the team to the 1995 NBA Finals. A year later, he took his talents west to the Los Angeles Lakers. His free agency coincided with the Lakers acquiring Kobe Bryant in a trade. The duo had a threepeat in 2000-2002.
Two years later, in 2004, Shaquille O’Neal returned to Florida. He turned out for the Miami Heat, where he claimed a fourth NBA Championship in 2006. Shaquille O’Neal played for the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Boston Celtics in the next 5 years before retiring in 2011.
A year after his retirement, O’Neal received a Ph.D. degree from Barry University.
Shaq married American television personality Shaunie in 2002 and later divorced in 2011. O’Neal has five kids- Shareef O’Neal, Myles B. O’Neal, Amirah O’Neal, Me’arah O’Neal, Shaqir O’Neal.
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4× NBA champion (2000–2002, 2006)
3× NBA Finals MVP (2000–2002)
NBA Most Valuable Player (2000)
15× NBA All-Star (1993–1998, 2000–2007, 2009)
3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2000, 2004, 2009)
8× All-NBA First Team (1998, 2000–2006)
2× All-NBA Second Team (1995, 1999)
4× All-NBA Third Team (1994, 1996, 1997, 2009)
3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2000, 2001, 2003)
NBA Rookie of the Year (1993)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1993)
2× NBA scoring champion (1995, 2000)
Shaquille O’Neal associated with many brands over his career and even after retirement. During his playing days, he created 2 pairs of signature sneakers in 1992 and 1995. In 2011, he signed up with Oreo. He teamed up with Arizona beverages to create a low-calorie soda called “Shaq-soda.”
Furthermore, Shaq has endorsed other brands too, namely: Aventis’ Icy Hot pain-relief patch, VitaminWater, Burger King, Kraft Foods, Pepsi, Comcast, Radio Shack, and Taco Bell.
Shaquille O’Neal has transformed into a multi-millionaire due to the smart investments he made after his playing career. He used the riches from his NBA money and pumped it into different ventures.
Celebrity Net Worth informs that Shaquille O’Neal’s current net worth is a whopping $400 million. Out of this, the ‘Big Diesel’ earned $286,344,668 from NBA contracts.
The charities that Shaquille O’Neal supports include Be The Match, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Centre ValBio, Free The Children, Kids Wish Network, PeyBack Foundation, Phoenix House.
He contributed $1 million to the Boys and Girls Club of America to create technology centers in Clubs nationwide, in partnership with Microsoft Corporation.
Shaquille O’Neal’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SHAQ
Shaquille O’Neal’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaq/
| Age | 48 |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Ex-wife | Shaunie O’Neal (m. 2002-2011) |
| Kids | Shareef, Myles B., Amirah, Me’arah, Shaqir |
| Nationality | American |
| Teams played | Los Angeles Laker, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics |
| Rings | 4 |
| Listed height | 7’ 1” (2.16 m) |
| Listed weight | 147 kg |
| Wingspan | 2.31 m |
| Shoes | Reebok |
| Endorsements | Soda Shaq, Vitamin Water, Oreo, Reebok, Papa Johns |