There are so many things to mention here in this little Shaquille Oneal biography because, this is a man who lives life to its fullest.
I love this guy. Great man who leads by example. He became basketball legend when he was chosen as the 50 greatest players to everplay the game in 1996 with only 4 years in the NBA (he was drafted 1992). Isn’t that amazing? Of course, I mean, me writing a Shaquille Oneal biography, means that he’s a legend right? Of course.
He stood there with guys like Larry Bird,Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar who played the game for 20 years. And Shaq is not just a baller, he’s a rapper and an actor.
Okay, onwards and upwards with this Shaquille Oneal biography..
When it comes to basketball, perhaps only Wilt Chamberlain can be reckoned with his ability to dominate the offensive side of the court. Known as “Shaq Attack”, when he intends to dunk, there is really nothing to stop him.
Grabbing so many offensive rebounds, getting double and sometimes triple teamed pivoting and dunk with power (his signature). This powerful signatureresulted in destroying backboards and shot clocks.
He lived with his mother, his grandmother and stepfather Philip (whom he loves much more than his biological father Joseph Toney). He’s never spoken with Toney nor does he want to. In his rap album “Shaq Fu: The Return” there is a song called “Biological Didn’t Bother” where he says that Philip is his father. And he really loved his grandmother.
The only two times when he cried in his life are, at the death of his grandmother and in the 1995 NBA finals when he was outplayed by Hakeem Olajuwon.
Shaquille Oneal started his NBA career in Orland Magic as the first pick in 1992 and it didn’t take him long to prove the nation just how dominant he can be as a rookie. Granted, he had Magic Johnson to practice with him prior that season which helped him a lot. Averaging 23.4 points and 13.9 rebounds per game made him the Rookie Of The Year.
The following season, a young superstar Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway joined him, and Orlando became one of the most winning teams in the NBA. But he never won a championship with Orlando and he played there for 4 years. In 1996 (the year when he played for the USA Olympic basketball team), he became a free agent and had to decide his future team. The decision? The Los Angeles Lakers! Where he presented himself as a formidable force on both ends of the court.
Shaq was chosen MVP of the regular 2000 NBA season and 3 times NBA finals MVP winning 3 championship rings. Together with Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson,, they executed the famous triangle offense perfectly. The relationship with Bryant was changing all along. At one point they were close brothers and at another, the worst enemies.
Kobe always wanted to prove that he could play without him but frankly, if it wasn’t for Shaq, the Lakers would’ve never won those 3 straight NBA titles. And opponents tried everything to stop him.
One of the key weaknesses Shaq has, is his free throw shooting. He practiced a lot with his free shooting coach Tom Penders who also taught him many years ago how to come to a jump stop. Gregg Popovich used this technique called Hack-a-Shaq, which means intentionally fouling him to provoke missed free throw shots. That’s why on those key moments, at the end of the game, the ball was never trusted to Shaq. It was Kobe Bryant who often used to come on the scene.
I think Shaq has promised so many championships and has managed to deliver about half of them. I remember when he said in 2002.. “We got 3 championships, and the next year, we’re going for number 4”. That didn’t happen. Fast forward 4 years, he promised Miami, the first ever championship which he delivered. However he promised yet another one for the following season but that didn’t happen either. His interviews are always cocky and funny. If he had a bad day, he knew how express that in a funny and entertaining way. Here are 4 funny quotes that I give you, in this Shaquille Oneal biography..
“Shaq, aaah, you’re the greatest of the Universe”
“I’m like toilet paper, pampers and toothpaste, I’m proving to be good. Now I have a chance to get a house on the water and get naked on the beach. Remember if you get pictures I get 20%”
“Period. P-U-R-E-U-D. Period”
“Fans pay a lot of money to watch the players not the f**cking bad officiating”
So, in total, he’s won 4 championship rings. The last one with a great help of Dwayne Wade (that guy saved the day more times than I can remember with those key clutch shots).
The following season 2006-2007 was his last of those 14 straight all-star appearances because in the season 2007-2008 he missed so many games because of his right knee injury. Dwayne Wade dislocated his left shoulder and coach Pat Riley decided to put an end to his coaching career.
Shaquille has also released 5 albums. His rapping abilities have often been critized but as people who know him well say, he’s been progressing step by step. We all know he’s not doing it for the money. It’s what he LOVES.
Regarding his personal love life.. He was married in 2002 to Shaunie Nelson and together they have 4 children (Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir, and Me’arah). In 2007 the couple split because Shaunie was “secretive about her assets”. Well, no one really knows for sure why they divorced. It might only be rumors, it might be true but who are we to judge. In this Shaquille Oneal biography, I’m only writing things I know for a fact. Facts that are not just some rumors.
On February, 2008 he joined the Phoenix Suns. There, as he says has a little trouble tuning with the guys but he’ll get it.
If you liked this Shaquille Oneal biography, read some more about some other NBA legends..
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