The beginning of the sports journey
Shaquille O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972 in New Jersey. As a teenager, he and his parents moved to Arizona. He started playing basketball from an early age. On the school team, this player stood out among his peers. It was thanks to Shakil's talent and effort that the school team became the state champion.
In 1989, O'Neal, to the delight of his parents, entered Louisiana State University. This basketball player was far ahead of his teammates in skill. During his studies, he was included in the youth league team several times, and also became player of the year. But he never graduated from university. A year before graduation, Shaquille O'Neal decided to leave the university and play in the most prestigious NBA basketball league. But after this player became a basketball player, he still graduated from the university at the request of his parents. He was inducted into the Louisiana State University Hall of Fame, and a statue of the player was erected in his honor outside the gym.
Biography of Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal is a legendary player whose name has long become a symbol of the NBA and the entire world of basketball.
He is fast, strong, technical and incredibly smart. Yes, yes, it was precisely the subtle ability to “read the game,” feel a partner’s shoulder, and also lead his team forward that made our today’s hero a true icon in his sport. He is the best of the best! After all, he is Shaquille O'Neal! Video course “Spring”
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Start of NBA career
Shaquille O'Neal, in his third year of college, was selected first overall in the draft by the Orlando Magic. This team, realizing the basketball player’s talent, immediately decided to sign a contract with him for 7 years. At the same time, the club had to pay Shaquille 40 million dollars. Thus, Shaquille became the highest paid rookie in the NBA.
In his first season at such a high level, this basketball player looked confident and helped the team improve its results. However, the Orlando team did not qualify for the league playoffs. At the end of the season, he was recognized as the best rookie in the league and was invited to the all-star game. Fans remembered this basketball player at the moment when he broke the support of the backboard while scoring the ball from above. The second season for Shaquille went even better. Following the results of the regular season, the Orlando Magic club entered the playoffs for the first time in its history. Shaquille ONeal (basketball player) became the league leader in scoring in the 1994/1995 season. He was invited to the NBA All-Star Game for the third time. After Shaquille arrived, things improved for the team. In the knockout matches, the team from Arizona reached the finals, but there they were defeated by the Houston Rockets.
Continuing his career at the Orlando Magic club
The start of the 1995/1996 season was unsuccessful for Shaquille. He suffered an injury that forced him to miss 28 games of the regular season. Despite this, the season was successful for the Orlando Magic team. According to the results of the regular season, the club from Orlando took second place in the conference. Shaquille O Neal was once again invited to the NBA All-Star Game. In the playoff series, this team easily made it to the conference finals. But at this stage, the Orlando Magic lost to the Chicago Bulls. The Chicago club then won the NBA championship. At the end of the regular season, Shaquille, as an unrestricted free agent, had the opportunity to choose a new club.
Playing for the Los Angeles Lakers
In the offseason, Shaquille O'Neal became a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. The contract with this basketball player was signed for 7 years. During this period, the club must pay Shaquille $121 million.
The basketball club from Los Angeles was just gaining momentum. At that time, the team consisted of young players who had yet to prove themselves in the NBA. Shaquille became the main player around whom the club's game was built. In the same season, the young but extremely promising Kobe Bryant joined the club. During the season, Shaquille was injured again and missed almost half of the championship. In the conference semifinals, the Los Angeles team was defeated by the Utah Jazz. In the 1997/1998 season, the Los Angeles Lakers club was strengthened by several strong players. The regular season was successful for this team, but in the playoff series the club was again defeated by the Utah Jazz team.
First successes in the NBA
In 1999, a new coach, Phil Jackson, came to the Los Angeles Lakers team. He radically changed the team's tactics. This led to the Los Angeles club winning the NBA regular season 3 times in a row. Shaquille became the league's most valuable player in each championship season. His statistics were the highest for a center in NBA history. In March 2000, in a match against the Los Angeles Clippers, Shaquille set his personal record by scoring 61 points in a game. The combination of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant became the best in the NBA. These basketball players became real stars of the league. Shaquille O'Neal then played for such clubs as the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.
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Born 03/06/1972, Newark, New Jersey, USA
American basketball player, actor
Childhood, study
Shaquille O'Neal, full name Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal, was born on March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey. The name Shakeel Rashawn means Little Warrior in Arabic. In 1992, Shaquille stopped receiving education due to his departure to the NBA club Orlando Magic. And now, after a long pause, his dream came true; on June 26, 2005, the celebrity received a diploma of higher education from the University of Louisiana, an MBA - Master of Business Administration, from the University of Phoenix. The Miami Heat center was the most famous and highest-ranked graduate among 2,200 master's degrees, and the only NBA basketball player with an MBA. Higher education is very important for him; someday Shaquille O'Neal will have to leave basketball and then he will definitely need it.
Film career
Shaquille O'Neal made his film debut in 1993 in the American film SV4. Then the rap albums “Shaq Diesel” and “You Can’t Stop the Reign” brought additional fame to the aspiring actor. A little later came episodic roles in the 1994 film “Gamble,” in the 1995 film “Mad Television” and the 1996-2001 TV series “Arliss.” In 1996, the actor perfectly played the role of the genie in the comedy film “Did you call the genie?” directed by Paul Michael Glaser. Together with Shaquille O'Neal, the actors shared the set: Francis Capra and Ellie Walker. The film showed the story of a little boy, Max, who was bullied both at school and on the street by evil boys. Among the actor’s film works at that time were such films as: “Great Hamburger”, “Mr. Steel”, “Hollywood Square”, “Cousin Skeeter”, “His Game” directed by Spike Lee with Denzel Washington, Ray Allen and Milla Jovovich in the title roles. Once again, the basketball actor created a gallery of bright and varied episodic images in the films: “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” “Fuck You, Freddie!”, “My Wife and Kids,” “The Wash,” “After Sunset.” "directed by Brett Ratner, where the main roles were played superbly by the actors: Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson and Don Cheadle. In 2005, Penelope Spheeris' comedy "The Boy and I" was released, where Shaquille O'Neal played himself. The main roles in the film were played by the following actors: Tom Arnold, Eric Gores and Joe Mantegna. 2006 brought the talented actor the role of Shaq in the American film Scary Movie 4. The following year, Shaquille O'Neal's creative biography made his debut on television with a new reality show called "Shaq's Big Challenge." In 2008, director Fred Wolf invited Shaquille O'Neal to play a minor role in the comedy film The Boys Like It, starring Anna Faris, Coleen Hanks, Emma Stone and Kat Dennings. The role in the comedy melodrama “Once Upon a Time in Rome” directed by Mark Steven Johnson, presented to the audience in 2010, also became tempting for the irrepressible actor. Starring: Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel and Anjelica Huston.
Besides
Shaquille O'Neal was a player for the Orlando Magic basketball team from 1992 to 1996, 1996-2004 for the Los Angeles Lakers, 2004-2008 for the Miami Heat, 2008-2009 for the Phoenix Suns. , 2009-2010 - Cleveland Cavaliers, 2010 - Boston Celtics. Shaquille O'Neal was the 1996 Olympic champion, the 1994 world champion, and a 4-time NBA champion in 2000-2002. In 1996, the famous basketball player was included in the list of the 50 best players in NBA history, and he was the youngest of the entire list. In addition, he was recognized as the most valuable player of the NBA in 2000, for 15 years, 1993-2009, Shaquille O'Neal took part in the All-Star Games, together with Wilt Chamberlain holds the Association record - 9 seasons, 5 of them in a row, with the most high field goal percentage. Shaquille O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA All-Star Game in 2000, 2004, and 2009. He currently plays for the Boston Celtics. In addition to his sports career, Shaquille O'Neal led an active social life: he starred in films and commercials, released several music discs, and also wrote an autobiography and was the face of many computer games. In addition, Shaquille O'Neal in 1997 took part in the dubbing of the animated film "Johnny Bravo" produced in the USA. Shaquille O'Neal tried his hand as a director in the 1998 film "Cousin Skeeter" and was the producer of the 1997 film "Mr. Steel" and the film "Did they call Gene?"
Personal life
Shaquille O'Neal tried to show himself as a funny guy, but under the mask of a joker, comedian and buffoon, ready to do the most incredible things, hid a complex personality with his own problems and “cockroaches”. Shaquille was married to Shawnee Nelson, with whom he has two sons and two daughters. In November 2009, the family union broke up. The actor also has one daughter with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardburg. The divorce affected the psychological state of Shaquille O'Neal, who was defending the colors of the Cleveland Cavaliers at that time. Perhaps this family trouble prevented him from helping LeBron James win a championship. In the summer of 2010, Shaquille O'Neal's life began to slowly improve: he signed a contract with the Boston Celtics and found a new love - Nikki Alexander. Rumors about Shaquille O'Neal's marriage to Nikk Alexander appeared in the media, but the lovers did not confirm anything officially.
Interesting Facts
On March 6, 2000, Shaquille O'Neal set a personal best in scoring in a match with the Los Angeles Clippers, scoring 61 points and 23 rebounds. In August 2010, Shaquille O'Neal signed a one-year contract with the Boston Celtics for $1.4 million for the 2010–11 season. Shaquille competed in several boxing exhibition matches against top boxers such as Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya. Shaquille O'Neal's hands and feet were phenomenal in size: according to the American system of shoe measures, his foot was size 23, which approximately corresponded to size 55 in the European system of shoe measures.
International career
For the first time, O'Neill had to play for the national team at the 1992 Olympic Games. However, at the last moment the coaching staff decided to replace this basketball player with another player.
At the 1994 World Championships, the US team competed in an experimental lineup. The team consisted of young players. The leader of this team was Shaquille O'Neal. In the final, the US team defeated the Russian team and won the championship.
At the Olympic Games in Atlanta, the US team was the clear favorite. This team included NBA stars. The US team confidently beat all opponents and won gold medals. After the victory, Shaquille O'Neal announced his retirement. On June 1, 2011, he wrote about this on a social network. And then he held a press conference at home. The reason for leaving is numerous injuries. He would like to continue his career, but his Achilles will take about a year to recover.
Player Features
Shaquille O'Neal, whose height is 2 meters 16 centimeters and weighs 140 kilograms, has become one of the best centers in the league. Due to his size, he dominated at the goal, surpassing his opponent. Shaquille O'Neal, whose height allowed him to feel confident under the hoop, shot free throws extremely poorly. Opponents often deliberately violated the rules because they knew his weakness. Shaquille set a league record by missing a free throw 11 times in a row. Shaquille O'Neal, whose feet were phenomenally large, often had difficulty buying shoes. According to the European system of shoe measurements, its size is approximately 60.
Shaquille O'Neal outside of sports: music and advertising
Throughout his career, the great athlete repeatedly starred in American films. As of November 2013, the actor’s career includes twelve films, one television series, and one cartoon, on which the ex-basketball player worked as a voice actor. In fairness, it is worth noting that twice during his career, Shakil was nominated for the low-prestige Rotten Tomatoes award, which is traditionally awarded to the worst actors of the season. However, over time, his film roles became quite professional and noteworthy.
In addition, our today's hero has also managed to establish himself as a good rap artist. During his life, he released five full-length albums, as well as one collection of previously published songs. It is worth noting that the artist’s debut album, “Shak Diesel,” went platinum in the United States immediately after its release.
Shaquille O'Neal with his wife NikiApart from everything else, over the years the great basketball player also actively worked as a member of international charitable organizations. This is, in particular, mentioned in the autobiography of the basketball player.
It is also worth noting that Shaquille O'Neal is widely known as a model and commercial actor. His track record includes many successful advertising campaigns, among which marketing campaigns for shoe manufacturing companies stand out. In this context, we note that throughout his entire career, the basketball player played in sneakers specially created for him. Still would! After all, the real size of the legendary athlete’s feet reaches size sixty (!) according to the European calculus.
Currently, Shaquille O'Neal works as a sports commentator, collaborating primarily with the American sports channel TNT.
Personal life
Shakeel's father was an army sergeant. It was his father who insisted that he continue to study while playing in the NBA. Shaquille O'Neal is currently divorced from Shawnee Nelsen. In marriage, she bore him 4 children. He has another child with his ex-girlfriend Arneta.
Shaquille O'Neal had a long and successful basketball career. This player went down in the history of sports for a long time. He has now finished his professional career. Now Shakil devotes more time to children and filming. Many people are interested in how old Shakil ONeal is. He, being 45 years old, shows surprisingly high activity in life.
The early years of basketball player Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal was born in Newark, New Jersey. Such a significant event in the history of world basketball took place on March 6, 1972. From Arabic, the name of the great athlete is translated as “Little Warrior.” This is precisely what reveals the character of our today’s hero in the best possible way.
The thing is that the trials in Shakil’s life began in early childhood. His own father left the family when the guy was not even a year old. Subsequently, for several years in a row, his mother and family relatives were involved in raising the future basketball player. However, due to the constant workload and criminal foundations of the then Newark, there was always not enough money for food. The small family lived from hand to mouth and often ate in soup kitchens for the poor.
Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal's height is 216 cm. But at one point, the mother of our today's hero found a solution to all the problems. This turned out to be her new husband, Philip Harrison, who always sincerely cared about his new family and sometimes showed real heroism in a variety of areas of activity. For a long time he worked three jobs, and at the same time built a military career that could provide his family with many different benefits.
However, being a sergeant in the US Army had its downside. The family, which by that time had grown to include several more children, constantly moved, and Shakil himself often changed schools. Only when the future basketball player was fifteen years old, his family managed to find a permanent refuge for themselves in the American city of San Antonio (Texas), where, in fact, his sports career began.