Last Updated on January 10, 2025 by Mathew Diekhake

Here are the details for Shaquille O’Neal:

  • Full Name: Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal
  • Nicknames: Shaq, Diesel
  • Nationality: United States
  • DOB: Born March 6, 1972
  • Hometown: Newark, New Jersey
  • Wingspan: 7’7″ (231 cm)
  • Weight: Played at around 325 lbs (147 kg)
  • Height: 7’1″ (216 cm)
  • Shoe Size: 22 (US)
  • Shoe Brand: Reebok Shaq Attaq 4, Reebok Shaq Attaq 3, Reebok Shaq Attaq 2, Reebok Shaq Attaq
  • Number: #32 (Magic), #34 (Lakers), #32 (Heat), #32 (Suns), #33 (Cavaliers), #36 (Celtics)
  • Position: Center
  • High School: Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio, Texas
  • College: Louisiana State University (LSU)
  • Draft: Selected 1st overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic
  • Rookie Cards: 1992-93 Fleer Shaquille O’Neal #401, 1992-93 Fleer Ultra Shaquille O’Neal #328, 1992-93 NBA Hoops Shaquille O’Neal #442, 1992-93 SkyBox Shaquille O’Neal #382, 1992-93 Topps Shaquille O’Neal #362, 1992-93 Topps Stadium Club Shaquille O’Neal #247, 1992-93 Upper Deck Shaquille O’Neal #1, 1992-93 Upper Deck Trade Card Redemption Shaquille O’Neal #1b
  • Teams Played For:
    1. Orlando Magic (1992–1996)
    2. Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)
    3. Miami Heat (2004–2008)
    4. Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)
    5. Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)
    6. Boston Celtics (2010–2011)
  • 2K Rating: 93 (Magic), 98 (Lakers), 89 (Heat)
  • NBA Accolades:
    • 4× NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002 with the Lakers; 2006 with the Heat)
    • 3× NBA Finals MVP (2000, 2001, 2002)
    • 1× NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) (2000)
    • 15× NBA All-Star (1993–1998, 2000–2007, 2009)
    • 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2000, 2004, 2009)
    • 14× All-NBA Team selections:
    • First Team: 8× (1998, 2000–2006)
    • Second Team: 2× (1995, 1999)
    • Third Team: 4× (1994, 1996, 1997, 2009)
    • 3× All-Defensive Team selections:
    • Second Team: 3× (2000, 2001, 2003)
    • 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year
    • 1993 NBA All-Rookie First Team
    • 2× NBA Scoring Champion (1995, 2000)
    • Ranked 8th All-Time in NBA Points Scored (28,596 points)
    • Ranked 15th All-Time in Rebounds (13,099 rebounds)
    • Ranked 8th All-Time in Blocks (2,732 blocks)
    • Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2016)
    • Inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame (2017)
    • Lakers Retired #34 Jersey
    • Heat Retired #32 Jersey
    • Named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team (1996) and NBA 75th Anniversary Team (2021)
    • 2000 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year
    • 2012 NBA All-Star Game Top 35 All-Time Players
  • College accolades:
    • 2× Consensus All-American (1991, 1992)
    • 2× SEC Player of the Year (1991, 1992)
    • Adolph Rupp Trophy (1991)
  • Children: 6 (Taahirah, Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir, Me’arah, and Myles, who is his stepson)
  • Retirement Year: 2011
  • Retirement Age: 38
  • Net Worth: Made $292,198,327 in the NBA

Notes:

  • Shaquille O’Neal’s height with shoes is listed as 7 feet 1 inch (7’1″).
  • Shaquille O’Neal’s playing weight during his career was listed at 325 pounds (147 kg), though it fluctuated at different points in his career.
  • Similar players to Shaquille O’Neal include Dwight Howard and Joel Embiid.
  • Shaquille O’Neal signed a 5-year $40 million shoe deal with Rebook while playing in the NBA. He broke off that deal to create his own more affordable shoe brand. Shaq said that he was leaving the arena after a game one day and a mother told him off for charging kids so much money for shoes. This left an impression on Shaq and led to him focusing on an affordable shoe range. The Shaq brand basketball shoe became available at Walmart.
  • Shaq’s son, Myles B. O’Neal, is 6 foot 3 inches tall (1.91 m). Though Myles didn’t end up being Shaq’s height, 6’3 still puts him in the top 1% of height for men.

Fun Facts

  • He is good friends with Tracy McGrady. Since they both played for the Orlando Magic early in their careers, T-Mac used to hang out with Shaq. Occasionally, McGrady can be heard telling stories about hanging out with Shaq, such as when Shaq used to pay his friends to do nude runs through shopping malls, etc.
  • Shaq refers to himself as the most dominant NBA player in history. He doesn’t mention being the best, but he likes the idea of being the most dominant. Is there a fallacy in not being the best but being the most dominant? It’s hard to say what he means by that phrase, but presumably it’s related to his dominant size.

Photos

Shaq with Gina Rodriguez-LoCicero at the Lucky 13 premier (Hulu) Shaq at Alexxa’s Las Vegas Shaq with Kirk Cousins on The Big Podcast