Highlights
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (born March 6, 1972) is a professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Miami Heat. O'Neal is known for his size (7-foot-1, up to at least 360 pounds and a size 23 shoe), strength and physical style of play. O'Neal is considered one of the best players in the basketball history and has won four NBA championships, including three with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Heat. The 2006-07 season is O'Neal's 16th in the NBA; he has been selected to the All-Star team each year. O'Neal was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2000 and the Finals MVP in 2000, 2001 and 2002. In 1996, the 50th anniversary of the NBA's founding, O'Neal was nam...
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (born March 6, 1972) is a professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Miami Heat. O'Neal is known for his size (7-foot-1, up to at least 360 pounds and a size 23 shoe), strength and physical style of play. O'Neal is considered one of the best players in the basketball history and has won four NBA championships, including three with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Heat. The 2006-07 season is O'Neal's 16th in the NBA; he has been selected to the All-Star team each year. O'Neal was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2000 and the Finals MVP in 2000, 2001 and 2002. In 1996, the 50th anniversary of the NBA's founding, O'Neal was named one of the 50 greatest players in league history by a panel of former players, coaches, general managers, team executives and media. O'Neal was the youngest player among the top 50. In addition to his professional accomplishments, O'Neal is one of the most popular figures in sports, considered appealing to fans because of the likeable image he portrays despite his intimidating size. His stardom is such that he most often is referred to only by his nickname, "Shaq," and over the years has also given himself other enduring nicknames like "Diesel" and "The Big Aristotle." O'Neal's stepfather, Phillip Harrison, married his mother Lucille when Shaquille was an infant. Harrison was a member of the United States Army, so O'Neal once lived on a U.S. Army base in Wildflecken, West Germany. O'Neal graduated from Robert G. Cole Junior-Senior High School in San Antonio, Texas, where he didn't play basketball until he was a junior. O'Neal has said he considers his birthplace of Newark, N.J. to be home. O'Neal was a two-time All-American at Louisiana State University under coach Dale Brown, who discovered O'Neal during a visit to Germany. In 1991 O'Neal earned the Adolph Rupp trophy, presented to college basketball's top player. After three seasons at LSU, O'Neal declared for the 1992 NBA Draft and was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Orlando Magic. O'Neal immediately established himself as a physical force in the post and demanded constant double teams because of his size and strength. O'Neal's presence altered the game because defenders would leave their men to help with O'Neal, leading to more open shots for O'Neal's teammates. O'Neal's physical play and ability to open the floor for his teammates have been cited as his most valuable assets over his career. O'Neal was named the league's rookie of the year after averaging 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and shooting 56 percent from the floor for Orlando in 1992-93. The Magic improved its victory total by 20 games from the season before. O'Neal would play three additional seasons for Orlando, leading the Magic to a Finals loss to Houston in 1995, before signing as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. With the Lakers, O'Neal built on his reputation as a dominant player and gained more popularity while playing for one of the league's glamour franchises and for coach Phil Jackson, who had coached Michael Jordan in Chicago. But the Lakers advanced no further than the second round of the playoffs during O'Neal's first three seasons with the team. In 2000, O'Neal teamed with emerging star Kobe Bryant to win the first of three straight NBA championships. The Lakers lost to San Antonio in the second round of the 2003 playoffs before making it back to the Finals in 2004, losing to the Detroit Pistons. During this time the internal bickering between O'Neal and Bryant became public, eventually leading to a rift that prompted O'Neal to ask Lakers owner Jerry Buss for a trade. O'Neal claimed Buss rebuffed O'Neal's desire for a contract extension and sided with Bryant in their feud. In the summer of 2004 the Heat acquired O'Neal by sending Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant to Los Angeles. O'Neal teamed with young star Dwyane Wade to immediately elevate the Heat to championship contenders. O'Neal had a strong season while leading the Heat to the Eastern Conference finals, where it lost to Detroit in seven games. O'Neal played more of a supporting role to Wade the next season as the Heat beat Detroit in the East finals and went on to defeat the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals. O'Neal had his least productive professional season in 2006-07. O'Neal shot 59 percent from the field but averaged career lows of 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 28.4 minutes per game. Shaq has appeared in several motion pictures including Kazaam, The Kid and I and more recently, Scary Movie 4. In 2007 he produced and starred in a television series, Shaq's Big Challenge aimed at helping kids get back into shape. This reality TV show focused on six Florida pre-teens and their battle to lose weight. In September 2007 O'Neal filed for divorce in Miami-Dade Circuit Court from Shaunie, his wife of five years. The O'Neal's, who resided on Star Island in Miami Beach, Florida, have four children together. Each also has one child from previous relationships.
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Knicks' D'Antoni needs a Nash to run point
alan.hahn@newsday.comSo was it the system that made the MVP or was it the MVP who made the system? There is an undeniable correlation between the ascension of Mike D'Antoni's run-and-gun Suns and Steve Nash's arrival in Phoenix as a free agent in 2004, which led to...Tags: John Stockton, Steve Nash, New York Knicks, LeBron James, Toronto Raptors
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Heat Q&A with Ira Winderman
Sun-Sentinel.comAsk Ira! Sun-Sentinel Heat writer Ira Winderman answers YOUR questions about the team! You can read his latest comments below. To submit your question, e-mail here. Please include your name, city and state with each question. --------------------...Tags: Stephon Marbury, James Jones, Jason Smith, Andre Miller, Damon Jones
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Hey, I'm right about Redick
Sentinel ColumnistUntil further notice, you are now entering the No-J.J. Zone. After today, this column space is the only place you can go in this entire town that will be absolutely and completely J.J.-free. Until J.J. Redick actually does something notable in a real...Tags: Vehicles, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tim Tebow, Casey Anthony, W.
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Dolphins Q&A with Harvey Fialkov
Sun-Sentinel.comAsk Harvey! Sun-Sentinel Dolphins writer Harvey Fialkov answers YOUR questions about the team! You can read his latest comments below. To submit your question, e-mail here. Please include your name, city and state with each question. ----------------...Tags: Stephon Marbury, James Jones, Jason Smith, Andre Miller, Damon Jones
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D'Antoni upbeat despite Knicks' preseason loss
alan.hahn@newsday.comMike D'Antoni checked the stat sheet of Wednesday night's 113-111 loss to the Raptors in their preseason opener and found as many positives as he could, but no matter how hard he looks he won't see the name Steve Nash anywhere. He's slowly building a...Tags: Stephon Marbury, New York Knicks, Viral Diseases, Eddy Curry, Diseases
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Leaner, smaller Hawkeyes look to run-and-gun
Associated Press WriterAll you need to know about this year's Hawkeye women's basketball team is stamped on Megan Skouby's face. Or, more specifically, the 6-foot, 6-inch senior center's black eye. Iowa's team is smaller, faster and more agile than last year's squad, but...Tags: Teaching and Learning, Iowa Hawkeyes, Phoenix Suns, National Basketball Association, Ohio State University
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Dwyane Wade won't be workhorse
South Florida Sun-SentinelThere certainly is something to be said about giving Dwyane Wade the ball and getting the heck out of the way. Over the final four games of the 2006 NBA Finals, it delivered the Heat a championship. But it also is an approach that can eventually run out...Tags: Kobe Bryant, Antoine Walker, Shawn Marion, Pat Riley, LeBron James
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Text messages from press row . . .
BOSTON -- Isn't the Boston Marathon usually contested in April? . . . Erick Aybar and the Angels weren't ready for the season to reach its finish line. . . . Aybar, whose cousin Wil Aybar coaches the diving team at the College of Holy Cross in...Tags: Michael Jordan, Halloween, Chicago Bulls, American League, Erick Aybar
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Lakers' Lamar Odom gets to the point
Los Angeles Times Staff WriterForget about that Lakers frontline of Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Odom has been shifted to ball-handling guard, part of an experiment conducted by Coach Phil Jackson in a monthlong petri dish called exhibition season. Odom, who has already...Tags: Kobe Bryant, Contracts, Ronny Turiaf, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol
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Be the first to know, or don't
While many residents have come to expect certain things from Fort Lauderdale's annual Winterfest Boat Parade — namely boats, big crowds and a whole lot of lights — there are still some surprises that organizers hold out for each year. The...Tags: Fort Lauderdale, Festive Event, Lorraine Bracco, Broward County, Tony Soprano
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Kidsday interviews NBA star Dwyane Wade
Kidsday Reporters, Age 10, HempsteadFresh from his bringing home the gold with the USA Olympic basketball team in Beijing, we interviewed Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat at the NBA Store in Manhattan recently. He is a spokesman for the new Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Games (pfgoldfish.com), a...Tags: Shawn Marion, Michael Jordan, Pat Riley, Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade
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Joel Anthony makes push at center for Miami Heat
Sun-Sentinel.comA year after entering Miami Heat training camp as a longshot prospect, Joel Anthony has moved into the mix for significant minutes this season at center. Asked to name someone who has stood out over the first five days of training camp, first-year...Tags: Jamaal Magloire, Alonzo Mourning, Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, Injuries
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