Shaquille O'Neal
Teams
Orlando Magic - 1992-96
Los Angeles Lakers - 1996-04
Miami Heat - 2004-08
Phoenix Suns - 2008-09
Cleveland Cavaliers - 2009-10
Boston Celtics - 2010-11
Playoffs
Appearances - 17 (1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2010,2011)
Conference Finals - 9 (1995,1996,1998,2000,2001,2002,2004,2005,2006)
NBA Finals - 6 (1995,2000,2001,2002,2004,2006)
Championships - 4 (2000,2001,2002,2006)
Awards and Honors
Rookie of the Year - 1993
MVP - 1 (1995,1999,2000,2001)
Finals MVP - 3 (2000,2001,2002)
All-NBA First Team - 8 (1993,1994,1995,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006)
All-NBA Second Team - 2 (1995,1996,1999,2005)
All-NBA Third Team - 4 (1994,1996,1997,2006,2009)
Hall of Fame - 2016
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Field Goal Percentage - #8
Total Blocks - #9
Total Points - #10
Total Rebounds - #16
Blocks Per Game - #17
Points Per Game - #24
Rebounds Per Game - #40
League Leads
Field Goal Percentage (#1-1994,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2004,2005,2006,2009, #2-1995,2003, #3-1996, #4-1993,1997,2008)
Points Per Game (#1-1995,2000, #2-1994,1998,1999,2002, #3-1996,2001, #4-2003)
Total Rebounds (#2-1993,1994,1995,2000, #4-2001)
Total Blocks (#3-1993,2000, #4-1994,2001,2005)
Total Points (#1-1995,1999,2000, #2-1994, #3-2001)
Rebounds Per Game (#2-1993,1994,2000, #3-1995,2001)
Blocks Per Game (#2-1993, #3-1997,2000, #4-2001)
After winning the college Player of the Year award as a sophomore and averaging 24.1 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 5.2 blocks as a junior, Shaquille O'Neal entered the NBA Draft, where he was taken by the Orlando Magic with the #1 overall pick.
Shaq was already a dominant force as a rookie, averaging 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game, nearly matching his college averages. He easily won the Rookie of the Year, and nearly took the Magic from last place to the playoffs, missing out on the postseason due to a tiebreaker.
His scoring average jumped to 29.3 the next season, #2 in the league to David Robinson, and he led the league in field goal percentage by shooting .599 on the season, while also grabbing 13.2 rebounds per game. He had his first triple-double that year, getting 24 points, 28 rebounds, and 15 blocks in a game, and led the Magic to the playoffs, but they were swept in the first round.
In his third season, he led the league in scoring for the first time, pouring in 29.3 points per game again, and finished as the runner-up in the MVP voting. In the playoffs, the Magic defeated Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the second round, then Reggie Miller's Pacers in the Conference Finals to reach their first NBA Finals. Shaq averaged 28.0 points and 12.5 rebounds in that series, but they were swept by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets.
Shaq missed 28 games the next season due to injury, something that would become commonplace throughout his career, but the team still finished with 60 wins. They breezed through the first 2 rounds of the playoffs, meeting the 72-win Bulls in the Conference Finals, where their season ended in a sweep.
Shaq decided to leave Orlando as a free agent after that season, signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. He missed over 30 games that season due to injuries, and the Lakers were only able to reach the second round. He was healthier the next year, only missing 22 games, and he raised his scoring average back up to 28.3, but lost in the Conference Finals to the Jazz in another sweep.
He missed only 1 game the next season and led the league in field goal percentage for the second season in a row and the 3rd overall, but the team was in a constant state of flux that year, with numerous trades and a coaching change, and the instability contributed to the team falling in the second round of the playoffs to the Spurs.
Phil Jackson was hired as the coach after that season, and he brought out the best in O'Neal. He had his best season, leading the league with a career high 29.7 points per game, along with 13.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks, both his highest since his rookie year. He was named the MVP that season, then dominated in the postseason, averaging 38.0 points and 16.7 rebounds per game in the Finals to win his first Finals MVP award.
He was nearly as dominant the next year, averaging 28.7 points and 12.7 rebounds, but lost the MVP vote to Allen Iverson. The Lakers took it out on everyone in the playoffs, losing only one game in the entire postseason on their way to a repeat title for the team and a repeat Finals MVP for Shaq.
His production decreased slightly the next year, as well as his games played, but when the playoffs came around, he was the same old Shaq, averaging 36.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in the Finals as the Lakers beat the Nets in a sweep, winning their 3rd straight title and Shaq's third straight Finals MVP.
He had toe surgery before the next season to deal with a long time issue, missing the first month of the season as a result. He still averaged 27.5 points and 11.1 rebounds once he returned, but his streak of 5 straight seasons leading the league in field goal percentage came to an end, as well as the Lakers' championship streak, which ended with a second-round playoff loss.
The team added Karl Malone and Gary Payton in hopes of making another title run, and Shaq's scoring average dropped to 21.5 per game, the lowest of his career up to that point. He did lead the league in shooting percentage again, and led the Lakers back to the Finals, but they were not able to beat the Pistons, losing in a huge upset in 5 games.
Problems between Shaq and Kobe led to O'Neal asking for a trade after the season, and he was sent to Miami during the offseason. He averaged 22.9 points per game on the season, led the league with .601 shooting from the field, finished as the MVP runner-up, and led Miami to the best record in the East and reached the Conference Finals before the Pistons ended his season again, this time in 7 games.
Shaq averaged 20.0 points per game the next season for the final time in his career, and it was the 14th straight season reaching that mark starting at the beginning of his career. Dwyane Wade blossomed into a star that year, and led the Heat to the Finals, where they beat the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games, while Shaq averaged only 13.7 points in the series.
Shaq missed half of the next season after having knee surgery at the beginning of the season, then the team lost Wade to an injury right after Shaq returned. The result was that Miami barely made the playoffs, and ended up being swept in the first round, the first time Shaq hadn't made it past that round since his second season in the league.
Shaq's production dropped significantly after that season, averaging only 13.6 points the next year, and he was traded at midseason to the Phoenix Suns. In his first full season with Phoenix, he had a bit of a resurgence, averaging 17.8 points per game and shooting a league-leading .609 from the field, which was the record 10th time he led the league in that category. Unfortunately, the team wasn't good, and he missed out on the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year.
He was traded to Cleveland after that season, hoping to chase a championship with LeBron James, but he broke his thumb and required surgery, causing him to miss over a month late in the season. He returned in the playoffs, but the team lost to the Celtics in the second round.
He signed with Boston as a free agent after his year with the Cavs, but spent most of the year injured. He returned in the second round of the playoffs, but was only able to manage 12 minutes on the court, and announced his retirement at the end of the season.
At his peak, Shaq was one of the most dominant players of all time. He led the league in field goal percentage 10 times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of 9, and led the league in scoring twice while finishing as the runner-up 4 different times. During his best years, he won an MVP and probably should have won a couple more, and won 3 straight Finals MVPs, and is easily one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
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