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Shaquille
O'Neal

Born Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal in Newark, New Jersey on March 6,
1972 the
Miami Heat basketball player is
today familiar
to millions of fans as Shaq, the 325 pound, 7'1' superstar famous
for backboard shattering dunks.
Although
born in the States, young Shaq spent most of his childhood in
Germany where his stepfather was stationed in the U.S. Army. It
was there that he learned to play basketball, later returning
to the U.S. playing for Louisiana State University, kicking off
a stellar basketball career.
Beginning
in 1992, he was signed with the Orlando Magic, helping the team
to a total 41 wins.
In
1996, he left Orlando to join the Los Angeles Lakers, and became
part of the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team in Atlanta, and
was later selected as one of the 50
Greatest Players in NBA History that same year.
He
later led the Lakers to to three consecutive
NBA titles beginning in 2000 and was named MVP of the NBA Finals
all three times.
In 2004, following
an NBA Finals loss to the Detroit Pistons, O'Neal asked to be
traded
to the Miami Heat.
The following
year, he was plagued by a thigh injury, but rebounded in 2006
to help his team to victory at the NBA
Finals in his fourth career NBA championship.
Off the court,
Shaq has starred or performed in a handful of Hollywood movies
including Kazaam, He Got Game, and a more recent
appearance in Scary
Movie 4.
Divorce
News
In September,
O'Neal filed for divorce from wife Shaunie
Nelson in a Miami court saying that the marriage was "irretrievably
broken," citing Shaunie's secretive financial dealings
as a major cause of the split.
The couple
married in 2002 and have four children, sons Shareef, 6, and Shaqir,
3, and daughter Amirah, 4. The youngest O'Neal, a daughter, was
born Me'arah Sanaa on May 2006. O'Neal has a daughter Taahirah,
9, and Nelson has a son Myles, 8, from previous relationships.
Trade News
Most recently,
reports that O'Neal would be traded
to the Phoenix Suns were confirmed in early February when
it was announced that the Suns had acquired O'Neal from the Miami
Heat in exchange for forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks.
Often cited
as the reason for the trade is the star center's recent upheavals
in his personal life along with a recent hip injury, leading to
a less-than-stellar year for both O'Neal and his team.
NBA.com: Shaquille O'Neal Bio
- Photo, current and game-by-game stats, biography and printable
player profile.
Shaquille
O'Neal | Official Site of BBallOne.com - Biography, facts
and information, career stats and a total of six picture galleries
of the superstar in action.
Yahoo!
Sports - NBA- Shaquille O'Neal - Breaking news, photos,
stats and career profile.
Shaq
Central - All Shaq, all the time, courtesy of the Sun
Sentinel and featuring breaking news and feature articles, video
clips, photo gallery, factoids, Q&A.
Shaquille
O'Neal - Wikipedia - A full biography, career highlights,
photo.
also see ->
Basketball
| Teens Go One-On-One
with Shaq
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