Shaquille O’Neal: The towering juggernaut finally calls it a day – Part 1
Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most recognizable names in the sports world. The gigantic centre has endeared himself to NBA fans around the world with his dominant play and charismatic personality for nearly two decades. The sun though finally set on a glittering career when Shaq announced his retirement through a social networking website, late on Wednesday.
The decision was coming, not many people are surprised by it, but it still feels a bit shocking. For most NBA fans today, it’s hard to imagine the league without Shaquille O’Neal. That is the sort of impact Shaquille has had on the league and on the sport as a whole. After Michael Jordan, it is probably safe to say that O’Neal is the most famous modern basketball player and an icon of pop culture - someone who has grown into even a bigger presence off the court compared to on it.
However, his fame and glamour should not cloud the fact that Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greats of the game, and as safe a bet as any, a certainty to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
A big, strong and dominating player, Shaquille played as centre and gave nightmares to the whole of the league when he was in his prime. Teams specifically changed their rosters and styles of play, year after year, to somehow get the better of the behemoth that would simply knock them over whenever he felt like it.
His career, at least for the most part, was a story of tearing down the opposition in the paint. O’ Neal was drafted back in 1992, at a time when many legends of the game were still playing. With the Orlando Magic, he won the Rookie of the Year award in his first season and quickly established himself as one of best centres in the league, even with the likes of David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon around.
In his third season with Orlando, O’Neal won the league’s scoring title but missed out on the MVP crown to David Robinson. However, he tasted great success in the post season, taking the Magic to their first NBA Finals. That year though, O’Neal was denied what would have been his first NBA World Championship title by another great centre Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. During the finals series O’Neal averaged 28 points at a whopping 59.5 percent shooting.
His relationship with the franchise and the city as a whole soon broke down though and O’Neal referred to the treatment he got in Orlando as "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond." He left the franchise and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent in the summer.
After taking barbs from critics about making the move due to financial reasons, O’Neal came up with a witty comment in an interview saying, "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money," and added, "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok," which was a not so veiled reference at making money off endorsements.
Link for Part-2: http://www.senore.com/Shaquille-ONeal-The-towering-juggernaut-finally-calls-it-a-day-Part-2-a73113
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