I'm not the biggest fan of this team, but this is still something I could not pass up on because of the amazing deal I got it for and the player himself. Today's entry is an authentic Shaquille O'Neal Miami Heat jersey made by Reebok. This post will mainly focus on his 4 year tenure in south beach.
This is the road style he wore with the Miami Heat and is made of a very shiny polyester material. There is a bit of snagging, but it can easily be overlooked. The details are embroidered in two layer tackle twill in white and black. Definitely kept in great shape within the past 6-10 years.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal attended Louisiana State University and became a 2x SEC Player of the Year award winner as well as a 2x All-American and the 1992 Nat'l Player of the Year. In 1992, he was selected first overall in the NBA Draft for the Orlando Magic. He would collect the Rookie of the Year Award averaging 23.4 PPG and 13.9 RPG. Furthermore, he was voted into the 1993 NBA All-Star Game, one of the few rookies to receive that honour. In the 1994-95 season, he led the league in scoring [29.3 PPG] and would help take the franchise to their first NBA Finals appearance where they were swept by the Houston Rockets.
In the start of the prime of his career, the 7'1" center would sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. While averaging over 20 PPG and 10 RPG with stellar field goal percentage, it wouldn't take long for the purple and gold to achieve championship success. In 1999, Phil Jackson took over as head coach and with the assistance of the emerging young star, Kobe Bryant, the team won three straight NBA Championships between 2000 to 2002. He would continue to lead the Lakers for 2 more seasons before departing in 2004.
In his 8 seasons spent in LA, he was a 7x All-Star, 3x All-Star Game MVP, 3x NBA Champion and a 3x NBA Finals MVP.
In the 2004 offseason, Shaq was shipped off to the Miami Heat in one the biggest trades in league history. Averaging another 20-10 season, he made his 12th consecutive start in the All-Star Game and was voted second in the MVP race. The Miami Heat made a run to the Eastern Conference Championship only to lose to the Detroit Pistons.
The 2005-06 season would see a dramatic change for Miami by signing and trading for a veteran roster around The Big Aristotle and the team's future franchise player, Dwyane Wade. Although he averaged fewer numbers in points and rebounds, he would turn them around in the playoffs, averaging 19 points and 9 rebounds per game shooting an impressive 60% from the floor. He would capture his fourth NBA Championship against the Dallas Mavericks in a 4-2 series win.
In next two seasons, O'Neal's performance began to spiral downwards. Not only was he averaging the lowest numbers of his career, he was plagued by injuries and didn't make the cut for the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Midway through the 2007-08 season, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. In 2009, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers playing alongside LeBron James. After falling in the Eastern Conference semifinals, he signed as a free agent to the Boston Celtics for the 2010-11 season. Shortly after they were eliminated from the playoffs, The Diesel officially retired from the game after nineteen seasons.
Shaquille O'Neal represented Team USA twice in his career. The first was in 1994 FIBA World Championships where he captured a gold medal with a perfect 8-0 record. The second stint was in the 1996 Summer Olympics where he would win another gold medal in another sweeping fashion.
NBA Highlights and Achievements:
1207 games played, 23.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.3 BPG, .582 FG%
1993 Rookie of The Year
1993 All-Rookie First Team
2000 NBA Most Valuable Player
4× NBA champion [2000-02, 2006]
3× NBA Finals MVP [2000–02]
15× NBA All-Star [1993–98, 2000–07, 2009]
3× NBA All-Star Game MVP [2000, 2004, 2009]
8× All-NBA First Team [1998, 2000–06]
2× NBA scoring champion [1995, 2000]
On 2 April 2013, the Los Angeles Lakers retired the #34 in his honour.
"Me shooting 40% at the foul line is just God's way to say nobody's perfect." - Shaquille O'Neal
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