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| Birth Name(s) : Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal |
Date of Birth: March 6, 1972 |
| Status:
Married
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Partner:
Shaunie Nelson |
| Profession:
Actor/Athlete |
Official Site
Go to the Shaquille O'Neal Official Homepage |
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Full Shaquille O'Neal Biography
Shaquille O'Neal was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1992-93 and has since gone on to All-Star team status on and off the courts. He plays as a free agent for the Los Angeles Lakers (1996) and his close physical proximity to Hollywood has made itself known in his career.
In addition to cameo appearances, Shaq has made it to the big screen in "Blue Chips" (1994) with Nick Nolte, "Kazaam" (1996) and "Steel" (1997). |
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Additional Shaquille O'Neal Biography
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (pronounced "sha-KEEL") (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He starts at center for the Miami Heat, after previous stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. O'Neal has been on four NBA Championship teams, most recently in 2006, with the Miami Heat. Listed at 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m), 325 lb (148 kg) and U.S. shoe size 23, he is famous for his physical stature. He has several nicknames, such as "The Diesel", "The Big Aristotle", "The Big Daddy", "Wilt Chamberneezy" (given to him by Kobe Bryant), "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "The 8th Wonder", "M.D.E (Most Dominant Ever)", "L.C.L." (Last Center Left), "Superman", and most recently after earning his MBA, "Doctor Shaq". O'Neal was ranked #9 on SLAM Magazine Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003.
O'Neal first gained national attention as a star at a Robert G. Cole Junior-Senior High School in San Antonio, Texas. He lead his high school team to a 68-1 record during his two years there and helping the team win the state title his senior year.
O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career, but returned to school in 2000 and received a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies. He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame.
After the 1995-96 season, O'Neal left the Orlando Magic to join the Los Angeles Lakers, enticed by the allure of a seven-year, $122 million contract.
After the Lakers' loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, O'Neal became angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson due to request of Dr. Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered around a desire to appease Bryant, to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. The Dallas Mavericks and their team owner Mark Cuban were extremely interested in O'Neal and were willing to make a trade with the Lakers, but Kupchak wanted Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs' superstar, in return. Cuban refused to let go of Nowitzki and the Lakers ended trade talks with Dallas. However, Miami showed interest and slowly a trade agreement was made.
O'Neal finished the season as the league leader in field goal percentage; he joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players in league history to lead the league in field goal percentage nine times.
In the 2006-07 season O'Neal missed over thirty games with a right knee injury. The Miami Heat struggled during his absence but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad however, as fellow superstar Dwyane Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team. Critics were doubting if O'Neal, now in his mid thirties, was able to put the team on his shoulders and if he could carry them into the playoffs. The Heat went on a much needed winning streak to keep them in the race for a playoff spot, which the Heat finally secured against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 5.
He has also appeared in many other shows such as Saturday Night Live and in 2007 hosted Shaq's Big Challenge, a reality show on ABC where he encouraged Florida kids to lose weight and stay in shape.
O'Neal married Shaunie Nelson on December 26, 2002. The couple have four children, and Nelson has one child from a previous relationship. O'Neal also has a daughter from a previous relationship, making him the father of six. The family currently resides on Star Island (Florida) in Miami. On September 4, 2007, O'Neal filed for divorce from his wife Shaunie in a Miami-Dade Circuit court. According to the petition, "The marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken," and that Shaunie was "secretive about her assets ... particularly with respect to certain properties owned or titled in either name alone or in other entities" and requests that the court require Shaunie to give a "correct accounting of all money, funds, stocks, bonds, and other securities (including bearer securities)"
O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his bachelor of arts in general studies . Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job".
Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer; on December 8, 2005, he was sworn in as a reserve officer (he elected a private ceremony so not to distract the other officers from their special moment). Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal was a witness to a hate crime and called Miami-Dade police, giving them a description of the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender. O'Neal credits this as his first "arrest". |
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Shaquille O'Neal Quote(s)
| [When asked whether he had visited the Parthenon during his trip to Greece:] "I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went to." |
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