SHAQ RETIRES AFTER 19 SEASONS & 4 CHAMPIONSHIPS!

MIAMI - Talk about a big exit.

Shaquille O'Neal, literally one of the NBA's giants at 7-1, 325 pounds, announced his retirement Wednesday via Twitter after a Hall of Fame career in which he physically dominated pro basketball for the better part of two decades while winning four rings with two different teams.

O'Neal, 39, spent this season with the Celtics, hardly playing in Boston's second-round playoff loss to the Miami Heat due to various leg injuries. During the series, he tipped his hand about his retirement plans when he said that the owners' plan to impose a lockout on July 1 "isn't going to have any effect on me."

With O'Neal's announcement came a link to a video showing him seated at an office desk, addressing a camera with a smile.

"We did it," he said. "Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first that I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon."

Apparently O'Neal, ever the prankster, was so busy making the video that he neglected to tell the Celtics he was calling it a career.

"To my knowledge, he has not informed any of us that he's retiring," team spokesman Jeff Twiss said.

The Newark product was selected to the All-NBA team in each of his first 13 seasons and was a 15-time All-Star. He finished as the league's fifth all-time leading scorer, with 28,596 points.

"I'm a little bit sad," said Pat Riley, the Heat president who was also the coach when O'Neal won a title in Miami. "It's the end of an absolute 20-year career. Great, great player. . . . The league's going to miss Shaq."

O'Neal was Rookie of the Year in 1993 with Orlando, but his greatest years came in L.A., where he won his only MVP award in 2000 and, along with Kobe Bryant, led the Lakers to three straight titles from 2000-02. He also took home three straight Finals MVP awards.

O'Neal won his fourth title with the Heat in 2006.


SOURCE