Shaquille O’Neal

At 7’1” tall and a weight that moves from 300 pounds to 330 pounds depending on whether it’s basketball season or not, we should all be grateful that Shaquille O’Neal is a nice guy. Often mistaken for a redwood, this massive center began his NBA career in 1992 with the Orlando Magic before moving to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. A hard guy not to notice, “Shaq” attracted a lot of attention during his highly productive NCAA career. Shaquille O’Neal enjoys a considerable advantage on the basketball court as a result of his bulk and towering height, but he’s also known as an excellent shooter from behind the three-point line.

Committed to the development of his skills, Shaquille O’Neal is known as a quality, all around player—with one exception. From the foul line, he is notorious for his low average. While many sportswriters attributed this to a lack of practice and discipline, it was later revealed that he had actually suffered wrist fractures that made it difficult for him to carry out the smooth, closing lid hand motion necessary to land free throws.

Despite this, he made especial effort to improve his free throw skills, putting in extra time after practices—unfortunately, the result remains a dismal average. As his only weakness, his opponents will often foul him rather than let him go for an unstoppable dunk, reasoning that giving away one point (his free throw average hovers just above 50%) is better than letting him take two.

Surely the highlight of his career is his pairing with Kobe Bryant. Kobe’s now-you-see-him, now-you-don’t fast breaks and Shaquille O’Neal’s definitive dunks proved too much for any NBA defense to handle, making the Los Angeles Lakers NBA champs three years running starting in 2000. Regrettably, what started as a friendly rivalry with Kobe turned bitter, and accusations about egos began to fly.

Today O’Neal is a dominant force for the Miami Heat, and is, incidentally, also assisting the heat in two different jurisdictions as a virtually unpaid sheriff’s deputy. He is married with three children.