Shaq retires

[benji]

Agreed with Jon.

Where will his jersey be retired?

Lakers already announced they will be doing so.

[Jeffx]

Oh, and how about having the third best PER over his career in the NBA despite his average career-ending years. Only Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal have managed to lead the league at least five times in a row in PER. -> top 10 material? I think so, maybe Benji's gonna kick me, but looking at the stats of his prime, Shaq got to be in the top 10.

Wilt, Jordan, Russell, Oscar, Kareem, Magic, Bird, Hakeem, West, Duncan. That's my all-time Top 10. I can't put Shaq in that immortal group(Hakeem and Moses Malone have more career rebounds). He belongs in the next 10.

[benji]

Shaq played after the 1980s though. The pace is different. Part of why I've been advocating for separation of the NBA along the three point line. (And throwing out the entire 1970s.)

Besides, Elliot Kalb proved this with objective facts, Shaq is the best player of all time.

Because he's like Frank Sinatra or something.

[Jeffx]

Part of why I've been advocating for separation of the NBA along the three point line. (And throwing out the entire 1970s.)

Totally wrong and unfair(dismissing the 70s).

Now Shaq was a dominant force on offense, but IMO, the cats I mentioned played the center position better. Shaq wasn't the ferocious, relentless rebounder Moses Malone was.

I always felt in the back of my mind Shaq could have been much better than he was.

[The X]

I always felt in the back of my mind Shaq could have been much better than he was.

I don't think anybody would disagree with you there. He should've rebounded and blocked better. He got it done when he needed to though.

[benji]

Totally wrong and unfair(dismissing the 70s).

Have to, the Knicks won two championships during the 70s.

[debiler]

I'm really gonna miss him. Bye Shaq, you were one of the real greats of all time.

[koberulz]

Not so fast, says Woj.

Goodbye will never come this way. There’s still a comeback left within him, still some late-season clandestine workouts with teams to show he can be useful in the playoffs.

A former front-office executive, former coach and former teammate of O’Neal’s privately agreed with the premise on Wednesday: Shaq will try to play again. There will be one more ill-conceived, clumsy comeback for him.

As one of his ex-coaches says, “If there’s a lockout, I can see him bored with whatever he’s doing, wanting the attention and trying to come back with a team later in the season.”

Guess you can never say never. He brings up some good points about his legacy and personality as well.

On that note...

[Oznogrd]

Shaq was the maybe the 5th player I ever heard about (MJ, Pippen, Alonzo, Larry Johnson being my first 4) and I loved him back in his Magic days. Used to use the magic all the time in NBA showdown '94 just to break backboards with shaq.

I started to dislike him in his Lakers days but it was more for his playstyle and success at it than anything else. As Sheed would say "Ball dont lie".

Im with the rest of you guys. A large part of me wishes that he hadnt had those years on the cavs, Cs, and Suns where he was barely a shadow of his former self.

But its weird to watch all these guys I grew up watching just start to phase out. Pretty soon there wont be anyone who was playing when I started watching left.

[Andrew]

On that note...

I have my doubts about that happening but that would be pretty cool, I'd be making an effort to catch some NBL games if it did. If he could stay healthy, he could probably at least put up stats similar to his first couple of years in Miami.

[Dan's Brain]

On that note...

I have my doubts about that happening but that would be pretty cool, I'd be making an effort to catch some NBL games if it did. If he could stay healthy, he could probably at least put up stats similar to his first couple of years in Miami.

Don't know if he'd be happy only making $250 a week. But hope it does happen. Sucks that it would be far north Queensland instead of Melbourne, but I guess those guys deserve a break after the year they've had.

[Andrew]

Supposedly he hasn't even touched any of the money from the contract he signed with the Lakers way back in 1996, so any NBL contract would basically be pocket change that he'd probably give to charity anyway. The money probably wouldn't matter but I doubt he tries to continue his career in a vastly inferior foreign league. Like I said though, if by some miracle he actually did play a game or two I'd certainly be inclined to watch, maybe even travel to see it depending on where it was being played.

[puttincomputers]

Supposedly he hasn't even touched any of the money from the contract he signed with the Lakers way back in 1996, so any NBL contract would basically be pocket change that he'd probably give to charity anyway. The money probably wouldn't matter but I doubt he tries to continue his career in a vastly inferior foreign league. Like I said though, if by some miracle he actually did play a game or two I'd certainly be inclined to watch, maybe even travel to see it depending on where it was being played.

hasn't touched that cash yet? good for him. It pays off to live below your means. Now he can go home, sit around, and get fat..... oh wait. Hes already "chubby".

[shadowgrin]

Now he can go home, sit around, and get fat..... oh wait. Hes already "chubby".

Despite that he can still play better basketball than Eddy Curry or all of us here in the forums.

[Moz]

so the Lakers got the first to announce they'll retire Shaq's number

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/n ... id=6617095

The Los Angeles Lakers plan to honor their former self-proclaimed Superman, Shaquille O'Neal, by raising his No. 34 jersey to the rafters.

"We don't have any specific timetable on this, but you can be assured we will retire Shaq's jersey," said Lakers spokesman John Black in an email on Wednesday.

O'Neal, 39, revealed his retirement earlier Wednesday using the new social media tool Tout, a real-time video messaging service, to announce to fans: "We did it. Nineteen years baby. I want to thank you very much, that's why I'm telling you first, I'm about to retire. Love you, talk to you soon."

O'Neal enjoyed the the bulk of the success during his 19-year NBA career in the eight seasons he spent in Los Angeles from 1996-2004, winning his lone regular season MVP award in 1999-00 and three consecutive Finals MVPs from 2000-02.

All seven other Lakers players to have their number retired are members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but the team may not wait for the requisite five-year grace period before O'Neal enters the Hall as a surefire, first ballot inductee before hosting the jersey ceremony.

"We don't have a specific policy on it," Black wrote. "As you know, players have to wait five years to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but we could possibly do a jersey retirement ceremony for Shaq prior to that."

The Lakers will not purposefully hold off on O'Neal's jersey retirement until Kobe Bryant's jersey is retired, either.

"At this point in time I'd guess there's a really good chance that Kobe will still be playing in five years, and by that time Shaq will be elected to the HOF and we will have retired his jersey," Black wrote.

[jettdaking!]

bye Shaq. one of the best Centers ever I think Wilt was the best, IMHO
maybe Shaq can still have a future in acting

[Andrew]

It's only appropriate. He may not have left on the best of terms but he absolutely deserves to have his jersey retired by the Lakers. I'm not sure why the five year Hall of Fame eligibility rule is being brought up as a possible issue; while every Laker whose jersey has been retired is in the HOF, they didn't wait until they'd been elected to do so and indeed I don't think most teams bother to wait as there's really no need.

[Fresh8]

It's only appropriate. He may not have left on the best of terms but he absolutely deserves to have his jersey retired by the Lakers. I'm not sure why the five year Hall of Fame eligibility rule is being brought up as a possible issue; while every Laker whose jersey has been retired is in the HOF, they didn't wait until they'd been elected to do so and indeed I don't think most teams bother to wait as there's really no need.

There's a mutual respect from both parties. Shaq wants to end the HOF as a Laker and the Lakers want to retire 34.

[Lamrock]

phpBB [video]

[Andrew]

Shaq wants to end the HOF as a Laker

I'm not really sure what you're getting at there.

[jenroe962002]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoyiR3ob ... r_embedded

[Andrew]

The Big Maestro.