The four-time NBA champion, Shaquille O’Neal, recently talked about his jersey retirement ceremony in an interview on “Inside the NBA”. The Orlando Magic club selected O’Neal in the 1992 NBA Draft in the first round as the first overall pick.
He has now become the first player whose jersey has been retired by the Magic franchise. His ceremony was held as the Magic took on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Magic lost the game with a concluding score of 113-127.
According to Fadeaway World, O’Neal expressed, “Out of all the ceremonies, this is the most exciting. 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.”
O’Neal, the fifteen-time NBA All-Star, has become the first player whose jersey is being retired by the Orlando squad. Magic’s CEO, Alex Martins, has also commended what O’Neal has done for the franchise. Before becoming one of the greatest players in the league, Shaq transformed the squad with whom he had played from 1992 to 1996.
With Shaq on the squad, the Magic were able to reach the NBA Finals in 1995. They would have achieved great heights together but Shaq left the squad to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite joining many clubs in his incredible career, Shaq still feels the most for the Magic squad.
During his time with the Lakers, who had legendary player late Kobe Bryant, Shaq won three championships and was also the MVP for three Finals. He had an impressive average of 35.9 points, 15.2 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks. In 2013, the Lakers retired his No. 34.
In 2006, he went on to win another title with the Miami Heat and was still prominent on the court. In 2016, the franchise retired his jersey No. 32, the same year he was also inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
