Short answers, pulled from the story.
Shaquille O'Neal won four NBA championships. He won three consecutive titles with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000, 2001, and 2002, and a fourth with the Miami Heat in 2006. He was named Finals MVP all three times with the Lakers.
O'Neal was dissatisfied in Orlando for several reasons: he felt coach Brian Hill was not respected by the team, his teammate Anfernee Hardaway considered himself the team's leader and did not want O'Neal earning more, and a public poll showed 91.3% of fans did not believe he was worth the $115 million the Magic had offered. He signed with the Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract, announced during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
O'Neal finished his career with a .582 field goal percentage, second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest in NBA history. He led the NBA in field goal percentage ten times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine. His percentage was driven by his physical dominance near the basket and his signature drop step move, which he called the "Black Tornado."
Hack-a-Shaq is a deliberate foul strategy opponents used to send O'Neal to the free throw line, exploiting his career average of 52.7% from the line. On the 8th of December, 2000, against the Seattle SuperSonics, he missed all 11 of his free throw attempts in a single game, a record. He attempted 11,252 free throws across 1,207 games, third-highest in NBA history.
O'Neal earned a bachelor's degree in general studies from LSU in 2000 while still playing, an MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2005, and an Ed.D. in Human Resource Development from Barry University in 2012. His doctoral capstone topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles." He later earned a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts from LSU in May 2026.
Three NBA teams retired O'Neal's jersey. The Los Angeles Lakers retired his number 34 on the 2nd of April, 2013. The Miami Heat retired his number 32 on the 22nd of December, 2016. The Orlando Magic retired his number 32 on the 13th of February, 2024, the first time in franchise history they retired a player's number. O'Neal became the third player to have his number retired by three teams, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Pete Maravich.