Shaquille O’Neal is a retired Hall of Famer basketball player who was best known in the Los Angeles Lakers National Basketball Association.
Shaq, as he is best known, had a 19-year league career that featured him on a total of six teams. He won the NBA championship four times and numerous other honors including an NBA MVP title. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players to have ever played the sport, he has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2016) and FIBA Hall of Fame (2017).
Since retiring, the 7ft 1in tall, three hundred and twenty-five pound athlete has taken to various other pursuits including acting and sports analysis. He is currently featured on the television show Inside the NBA.
biography
O’Neal was born Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal to Lucille O’Neal and Joe Toney on March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey. After the imprisonment of his biological father and the relinquishment of fathers’ rights, he was raised by his mother and her husband, Phillip A. Harrison, a career sergeant in the Army.
Due to his stepfather’s work in the United StatesMilitary, Shaquille O’Neal moved around a lot as a child. Raised in New Jersey, he also spent time in Germany and then in Texas, where he attended and graduated from Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio. O’Neal played high school basketball for the school, helping them win 68 games and losing just one game over a two-year span in which they won the state championship in his senior year.
After three years of college, O’Neal decided to drop out to pursue a career in the NBA. After a protracted contract battle with the Magic franchise, Shaq relocated to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers in The Times, the largest contract in NBA history.
O’Neal had great success with the Lakers after he partnered with Kobe Bryant. He helped his team win three consecutive NBA championships before joining the Miami Heat in 2004 after a falling out with management and Bryant.
With the Heat, O’Neal won his fourth championship and achieved a career milestone of 25,000 points. He went on to play for the Phoenix Suns in 2008-09, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009-10, and then the Boston Celtics in 2010-11 before continuing his career.
Shaquille O’Neal’s wife
Shaquille O’Neal was previously married toShaunie O’Neal (née Nelson) The couple, who had been in a relationship and had children long before their marriage, swore their marriage oath on December 26, 2002 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The marriage lasted five years until they separated on September 4, 2007. Following their separation, Shaunie filed for divorce two years later on November 10, 2009, citing irreconcilable differences.
Shaunie O’Neal, a former film marketer, is currently a television personality, creator and producer of the reality television Basketball Wives among other endeavors. She has five children in total; a son named Myles from a previous relationship and then Shareef Rashaun, Amirah Sanaa, Shaqir Rashaun and Me’arah Sanaa with Shaq.
Son
O’Neal’s first son, Shareef Rashaun O’Neal, has followed in his father’s footsteps to play basketball after initially having no interest in the game. He currently attends Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California, where he plays basketball as a senior. He has signed on to go to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he will play for the Bruins men’s basketball program.
Shareef, who started as a high school basketball freshman and stood at 6ft 7in, is a polar opposite of his father’s playing style due to his better shooting skills and more athletic build.
Height, weight and other facts about Shaquille O’Neal
Birth Name: Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal
Place of Birth: Newark, NJ
Date of Birth: March 6, 1972
Nationality: American
Height: 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Weight: 147kg
Profession(s): Basketball player, actor, entrepreneur, rapper, wrestler.