In a recent interview on “Inside the NBA,” Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal opened up on his jersey retirement ceremony for the Orlando Magic, which took place today against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Magic unfortunately lost the game, but they were still the big winner of the night after Shaq called tonight’s event the best out of all the ceremonies so far.
“Out of all the ceremonies, this is the most exciting,” said Shaq. “Orlando, only being here four years, going to the Finals once, going to the ceremony… At LSU, I knew it was going to happen… the Lakers, I kind of forced it to happen because I wanted my name to be up there. Orlando, me playing here four years, going to the Finals once, going to the ceremony and seeing it and nobody else having a jersey… I never thought this day would happen. It means a lot, a lot of great players have played here including Penny Hadaway, Vince Carter, Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway Jr., T-Mac… To be the first is definitely an honor.”
The Orlando Magic just recently made Shaq the first player in history to have his jersey retired by the franchise, with Magic CEO Alex Martins citing O’Neal’s four-year stint as the “foundation” for his legendary career. While he was only on the team for four years, Shaq revolutionized the Orlando Magic franchise and gave them hope they hadn’t before.
Based almost exclusively on Shaq’s greatness and dominance alone, the Magic made the Finals in 1995 and they were poised to take over the East before his trade to the Lakers in the following year changed the team’s trajectory. Shaq never returned to Orlando after the trade and he would go on to win championships as the team was rebuilding. Despite the jarring level of success between them, it seems that O’Neal still has warm feelings about his run with the Magic and the success he achieved during his time there.
Shaquille O’Neal Is The Third Player Ever To Have His Jersey Retired By Three Separate Teams
While Shaquille O’Neal may be remembered most for his time with the Lakers, it’s really just one part of his storied career. After making the All-Star team in each of his first four seasons, Shaq went on to join Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and the results were extremely impressive. In the Purple and Gold, Shaq won three championships and three Finals MVPs as he led the way with averages of 35.9 points, 15.2 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game at the height of the dynasty. The Lakers retired No. 34 back in April of 2013.
In Miami, Shaquille O’Neal endured the last stretch of his prime and it was just enough to get him one last title with Dwyane Wade. While Shaq was no longer the best player in the league (or even on his own team), he was still highly formidable on the court and good enough for the Heat to win the title in 2006. They retired his number, 32, in December of 2016 when they raised his jersey to the rafters in front of the world. After the Heat, O’Neal’s prime was already over and he’d spent the rest of his time ring chasing to catch Kobe. But with three retired numbers now, there is no doubt that Shaq is one of the best to ever do it and we might never see his level of dominance again.
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