Shaquille O’Neal retired today, and he did it in his own unique, unexpected way. He tweeted it. Really, it was the only appropriate way for a true on-court original and off-court sports/entertainment pioneer like Shaq to go out.
“The Diesel” has been a special player since the moment he entered the NBA. He made an immediate impact, averaging 23 and 14 his rookie season, earning Rookie of the Year honors, and he was named an All-Star starter — the first to do so as a rookie since Jordan.
His dominance revolutionized the position of center, unlike anyone before or since.
Shaq was different than Chamberlain, Russell, and Kareem. Sure, they could drop 100 in a game or win close to a dozen titles or sky hook their way into the record books, but Shaq played with power. He didn’t go over people with finesse, he powered through them with a two-handed throw down. He also was athletic enough to lead a fast break and skilled enough to defend just about any big guy (struggling only with Hakeem, but Olajuwon was an all-time great in his own right).
The thing is, he could have been even better.
I think Shaq was fortunate that his body held up as long as it did, but I cannot help thinking that there is really no reason why he should not have been dominant well into the late 2000s even after his Laker and Heat days were over. There simply was no other big man that could contend with him, save for perhaps Dwight Howard, when Shaq was feeling right. And that was true even into this year with the Celtics. Unfortunately, O’Neal struggled to stay healthy the last few years, in large part, many suspect, due to a lack of consistent physical conditioning.
But he was so much more than just a dominant player on the court. He was a personality. He was also intelligent, so when he spoke he actually knew what the hell he was talking about. You obviously took notice of his stature on the court, but he was perhaps even more difficult to ignore off the court.
His smile endeared him to fans at every stop along the way, from Orlando to LA to Miami and then to Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston after that. His personality earned him fortunes in endorsement deals from Pepsi and Reebok, amongst others. He made the job of the media pretty easy too, as he was always good for a quote or the debut of a new nickname, from “The Diesel” to “Shaq Fu” to “The Big Baryshnikov” to “Shaqtus” and finally “The Big Shamrock”, with plenty more in between.
Sure he feuded with Kobe, mocked Yao Ming (and Chinese people in general), and couldn’t hit a free throw to save his soul, but he was hard not to love. He also made Kazaam, which is an awful movie, but awesome in its own way as well. He could rap (kind of) and tried being a cop, things that not too many others could pull off. He might not have been your favorite athlete, but you’d be hard pressed to find someone who truly disliked the Big Aristotle. (Other than Kobe, but that was just spite.)
He announced his retirement Wednesday, but I highly doubt he’ll be taking his four rings and riding into the sunset. He will still be around, probably on television, perhaps even pairing with Charles Barkley to form the greatest team of analysts in the history of television.
Shaq has been omnipresent for as long as I can remember watching basketball; and luckily for all of us, I don’t think we’ll stop seeing him anytime soon.
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