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What to say about Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal. One of the most powerful centers in NBA history, 2.16 meters, nearly 150 pounds of pure muscle, and a 19-year career in the American National League where he was Rookie of the Year in the 92-93 season and he won four leagues, three with the Lakers and one with Miami.
Incredible as it may seem, Shaq was also a child. He was born in New Jersey in 1972, the son of Lucille O’Neal and Joe Toney. His father also played basketball, but his career was frustrated with his drug problems.
Despite this, which caused Joe to be absent during the player’s childhood and youth, O’Neal’s childhood was quite normal. Of course, for years he was unable to play on any basketball team due to the work of his adoptive father, Phillip Arthur Harrison, who was a military man and took the family to live in different places in Germany and Texas.
Fortunately, when he turned 16, the family finally settled in San Antonio, Texas, where the future NBA star was finally able to integrate into a team. By then she was already 2.08 years old and had overwhelming physical abilities far beyond those of any children her age.
During the two years he played on the high school team, they only lost one game, winning the state championship with offensive superiority. His 791 rebound score during the 1989 season remains the state record. It will be hard to beat.
At that time he develops a special talent for throwing hooks, partly due to his admiration for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which makes him want to wear his number on his jersey, 33. However, his team did not have a jersey with the number 33, which must be confirmed with the 32 that he will wear throughout his career.
After graduating from high school, O’Neal decides to start studying economics at the University of Louisiana (LSU). His NCAA career is spectacular, with a multitude of personal titles as the best player of the season, but he will not be with the team for long as in 1992 he makes the step towards the professional in the ranks of the Orlando Magic. However, despite the fact that he has dropped out of university, Shaq will not abandon his studies, which will continue as a professional.
From that moment on, everything explodes. After being chosen as number one in the 1992 draft, he is named best rookie of the year and is the first player to join the All Star in his first year in the league, something that previously only Michael Jordan had achieved.
With his arrival in the NBA, Shaq not only becomes one of the most famous players in the league (something he will continue to be until practically his retirement), but he also becomes a pop icon, harnessing a vision and a comic personality that brought him. , after leaving professional sport, to work on television as a commentator.
Below we review, in photos, some of the most unknown moments in Shaq’s life.
