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Profile of Shaquille O'Neal

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-06-02 14:21

Profile of Shaquille O'Neal, who announced his retirement from the NBA on Wednesday.

* Born in New Jersey in 1972, O'Neal caught the eye of NBA scouts when he was at Louisania State University, and was selected by the Orlando Magic as the number one pick in the 1992 NBA Draft.

* He was Rookie of the year in 1993 and NBA scoring champion in 1995.

* In 1996, he joined the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won three successive NBA titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

* He won the MVP award in each of the three finals series.

* In 2000, he was named the NBA's MVP and won the scoring title for a second time.

* In 2004, he moved to the Miami Heat and won a fourth NBA championship two years later.

* O'Neal also played for the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and finally the Boston Celtics, before retiring at age 39.

* An imposing figure, he stood seven feet one inches tall (2.16 metres) and weighed 325 pounds (147 kilograms) and wore size 23 shoes.

* Over his career, which spanned 19 seasons, he scored 28,596 points in the NBA, the fifth highest total, and was 12th overall in rebounds and seventh in blocked shots. He averaged 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds a game.

* As a member of the United States team, he won a world championship in 1994 and an Olympic gold medal at Atlanta in 1996.

* He earned almost $300 million in salary over his career plus millions more in endorsements and gave himself a range of nicknames, including The Big Daddy, Superman and The Diesel.

* He released four rap albums, appeared in films and starred in his own television reality shows and had university degrees in arts and business.