Shaquille O’Neal - a glance at one of an amazing NBA careers
Shaquille O’Neal, born on 6th March 1972 is an American professional basketball player. During his early time in the NBA he was known more popularly as Shaq but now as he has moved to Boston being part of the Celtics, he has been given the name of Big Shamrock. Big Shamrock is one of the heaviest NBA players in the history weighing 325 pounds and the oldest active player in the NBA.
Shaq put up a good and impressive show by displaying his talents and skills in college and university and made his way to the NBA after being drafted by Orlando Magic. The giant player showed extravagant performances that enabled him to win Rookie of the Year award during the 1992-93 season. The team started to depend on him and the big man rose to every expectation when eventually he single-handedly guided his team to the NBA Finals. After spending the initial four years of his career with the Orlando Magic, Shaq became a free agent after which he joined the Los Angeles Lakers.
Joining the Los Angeles Lakers led to great deal of success for him and the team as they won three consecutive titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002 respectively. After spending some glorious years at the Lakers and forming one the best duo that have been formed in the NBA to date, Shaq was traded to Miami Heat in 2004. Continuing the form that the giant had during his time at the Lakers, Shaq and Dwayne Wade managed to come up with a title in 2006 but was traded half way through the next season to Phoenix Suns. Later he moved to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where the Big Shamrock played till the end of the last season. Now the big man is a part of the Boston Celtics team and will be playing the dominating centre role that he has been playing for quite some time now wearing the number 39 jersey.
After being drafted into the Orlando Magic, Shaq started a career that would become one of the greatest in history and place his name in Hall of Fame. Experts without a doubt say that this giant player is a powerhouse who destructed the opponents. Shaq has always been in the news regarding the fact that with a player of his physical strength breaks the glass and rims.
One of the interesting things during the time when the Big Shamrock was nearing the end of the career was the fact that the Lakers man Kobe Bryant was regarded as more of a sidekick, which Kobe didn’t like. According to reports Kobe was to leave the Lakers when in 2004 he was to be listed in the free agents. Things got worse after the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons. This led to the general managers saying things that more defended Kobe and put the Shaq in bad books of many. With the departure of Coach Phil Jackson, Shaq demanded that he should be traded. Talks began with the Dallas Mavericks to trade in Dirk Nowitzki but the deal couldn’t take place and eventually Shaq was traded to Miami Heat.
The giant player has had a career which is full of achievements and can help him make his way into the Hall of Fame. He won the FIBA Championships MVP in 1994; Shamrock won the NBA scoring champion title two times in 1995 and 2000, the big and one of the most talented players of his generation was able to grab the Rookie of the Year award in 1993 during the very first season of his career in NBA. One of the powerhouses in the game put up a brilliant show in the 2000 season where he was able to impress many experts and won the hearts of many fans and was able to win the MVP award.
Added to this are the four titles that this player has won that have helped him become one of the achieving legends of the game and being a face of NBA. The Big Shamrock won three consecutive titles with the Lakers in 2000, 2001, 2002 and the fourth one came in 2006 with the Miami Heat.
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