Shaquille O’Neal is a retired NBA player, entrepreneur, television host, and commercial endorser from the United States. Shaquille O’Neal’s net worth is $400 million as of this writing. Shaq earned $292 million in salary alone throughout his NBA career. During the same time span, he earned well over $200 million from endorsements. Shaq still earns around $60 million per year from endorsements and numerous commercial ventures, despite being retired for several years.
Early Years
Shaquille O’Neal was born in Newark, New Jersey on March 6, 1972 to Lucille O’Neal and Joe Toney. When O’Neal was a baby, his father was hooked to narcotics and went to prison for drug possession. Shaq’s parents never married, and his father fled soon after his release from prison, just after Shaq was born.
For decades, O’Neal was estranged from his father. His mother married Phillip Harrison, a sergeant in the United States Army, when he was two years old.
While growing up, O’Neal was a member of the Boys and Girls Club of America, which he credits with keeping him off the streets. The family went from Newark to Germany and then to Texas. Shaq began to attract recognition for his basketball skills while still in high school. He led Robert G.
Cole High School in San Antonio to the state championship in his senior year. O’Neal went on to become a two-time SEC Player of the Year and a two-time All-American at Louisiana State University. In 1991, he was awarded the Adolph Rupp Trophy as the NCAA men’s basketball player of the year.
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Career
O’Neal was picked first overall in the NBA draught in 1992 by the Orlando Magic, and he was tutored by Magic Johnson before relocating to Orlando.
O’Neal made history by being the first player in NBA history to be named Player of the Week in his debut week. He was a member of the Magic until 1995, when he became a free agent for the following season.
In 1996, he was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, which won the gold medal. He signed a seven-year contract with the LA Lakers after the Olympics. O’Neil kept improving his numbers and leading his squad to titles.
Throughout his career, O’Neal suffered numerous ailments, but his most devastating injury was degenerative arthritis in his toe. In 2002, he underwent surgery and missed the first 12 games of the 2002-2003 season. In 2003, the Lakers were seeded fifth and did not advance to the finals.
O’Neal spent his final seasons on two different teams. From 2004 to 2008, he was a member of the Miami Heat, where he had additional career highs and a couple more injuries.
He was traded to the Phoenix Suns for a season in 2008. He played with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2009 to 2010, then the Boston Celtics from 2010 to 2011, before retiring.
Shaquille O’Neal’s net worth is expected to be $400 million by 2022.
NBA All-Star
O’Neal was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic in 1992. He was chosen Rookie of the Year and voted an All-Star starter a year later, which had not been done since Michael Jordan. Shaq helped the Magic reach their first play-off series in his second season. They advanced to the finals the next year, but were defeated by the Houston Rockets.
O’Neal was sidelined for the majority of the 1995-96 season due to injuries, but the Orlando Magic nevertheless finished with a winning record. O’Neal and the Magic won the first two rounds of the playoffs that year, but were eventually eliminated by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
O’Neal was a member of the men’s Olympic basketball team in Atlanta in 1996. That squad went on to win the gold medal at the Olympics. O’Neal declared his plans to join the Los Angeles Lakers during the Olympics, causing problems among his coach, teammates, and the local Orlando media. O’Neal was offered a seven-year, $121 million contract by the Lakers.
This pairing put O’Neal on the same squad as a teenager Kobe Bryant, putting two of the game’s biggest names together. However, despite his promising first few years with the Lakers, they were unable to win a title. O’Neal struggled with injuries and personnel changes until the team’s leadership changed.
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The acquisition of former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson in the 1999-00 season set the Lakers on a course to become a dominant force for years to come. Jackson pushed O’Neal to improve his defensive performance. Shaquille and the Lakers won the NBA championship that year, and they would win it again the next two years.
In 2004, O’Neal was dealt to the Miami Heat. Shaq signed a $100 million 5-year contract with the franchise the following year. While he could have sought more money, he declared that he wanted to win another championship. The Heat got their opportunity the following year, when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks to win their first championship and O’Neal’s fourth.
O’Neal’s days of long-term contracts with teams had come to an end starting in 2008. That year, he was moved to the Phoenix Suns, where he missed the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season. He was traded to clear the budget at the end of his first season with the team. More one-year contracts followed, notably with the Cleveland Cavaliers (with LeBron James) and the Boston Celtics in his final season.
Player Information
Shaq stands at an incredible 7 feet 1 inch tall and wears a size 23 shoe. His physical size, which gave him a distinct advantage over his opponents, helped him become famous. Shaq’s incredibly strong dunks destroyed the steel backboard supports of the net on two occasions during his early NBA career.
The league responded by increasing the strength and stability of the backboards from that point forward. O’Neal is known for his “drop step,” also known as the Black Tornado.
Shaq owns a 15-acre property in suburban Atlanta that he purchased for $1.15 million in 2017.
In 2018, he spent $1.8 million for a property in the Bell Canyon neighbourhood of Los Angeles. He advertised this home for $2.5 million at the end of 2019.
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How Many Restaurants Does Shaq Own?
Among other businesses, Shaquille O’Neal owns 155 Five Guys restaurants, 40 fitness centres, and one movie theatre. Shaquille O’Neal is not just one of the NBA’s most dominant players, but also one of the sharpest. The Big Diesel was always up for a good time, but he understood that money wasn’t made to be spent.
Summary
Shaquille O’Neal has become one of the most well-known athletes in the world. In athletics, he has broken and set numerous records and standards. His net worth is a result of his sports, television, music, and film careers, and it is steadily increasing.
Shaquille O’Neal’s net worth is $400 million as of 2022.