When I met Aaron Nelson and Michael Clark in Phoenix they solved that problem. Pat Riley got mad at me for dissing his training staff, but I wasn’t dissing them. They were just old-school trainers who did things their way. The guys in Phoenix were new-school trainers with new ideas, who used technology and other techniques to figure out what makes the body work.
My body told me it was time to retire. My mom wanted me to stop three years ago. Same with Dale Brown. The only one who wants me to keep going is Sarge. He keeps telling me, “You’ve got unfinished business. Let them fix your leg, come back one more year, then retire.”
Sorry, Pops. I can’t.
The question I’ve been asked the most these past few months is how I think I will be remembered. I just hope people can respect what I’ve accomplished.
Seems to me players are forgotten five minutes after they are gone. I was fortunate once to meet the legendary George Mikan. It was about three years before he died. We were in Minnesota, and he was in a wheelchair. When I came in he had the biggest smile on his face. He had a pen and paper in his hand and he said, “Would you please sign this autograph for me?” I was blown away. I said, “Are you serious?” He said, “Yes, my kids love you.”
It is a shame that George Mikan isn’t remembered the same way as some of the other more recent stars. He was the first dominant big man. Let’s get real: he has a drill named after him. When he passed away, I helped pay for his funeral. I was honored to help out.
When I look back on nineteen years in the game, I’m grateful for the opportunities I had. I played with some of the best of all time: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Grant Hill, Alonzo Mourning, Penny Hardaway. That’s a helluva list.
But teammates come and go. It’s the other people in your life who stay with you no matter how many points you score. People like Danny Garcia, my massage guy. People like Joe Cavallero, my high school teammate. People like Poonie, my “second mother” at LSU.
I met Poonie when I used to go with my teammate Harold Boudreaux to a little town in Louisiana called Cecilia. Whenever we had time off, all the other guys were going to New Orleans to raise hell, but me and Harold would go to his little hometown. There was a girl named Catice that I had my eye on, so we’d go down there and wind up at Poonie’s house. Her real name is Evelyn Huval. She has a son, Dane, and he played high school ball with Harold.
I might have gone down there chasing a girl, but the ones I ended up falling in love with were Poonie and Dane. Poonie was so sweet. She’d wash all my dirty clothes, and we’d hang out or go to the mall, and then on Sundays I’d sleep all day. I’d do my homework, and she’d make me these little chicken sandwiches, then send me back to LSU.
It was a very simple existence, but that’s what I like. The Shaq you see on television, at the clubs, that’s a different person than Shaquille, who was never happier than when he was at Poonie’s house, hanging with Dane and the fine people of Cecilia.
When I started playing pro ball and got some extra money, I bought Poonie a new house. I’ve been going to visit her in the summers for the past twenty years.
That’s why I don’t really care if I ever have another conversation with Kobe or DWade. It’s not a personal thing. We played together, won championships, we’re in the history books, it’s all cool. But are you asking me whether I’d rather hang with Kobe and DWade or Poonie? It’s not even close, brother.
I won’t lie to you. My relationships with women haven’t always been the best. It started all the way back at LSU, when I fell in love with a girl who was dogging me behind my back. She was with me, but when I wasn’t looking she was with a few other fellas, too. I was so blinded by love I never saw it coming. Looking back, I think she was more in love with the glamour of my life than just caring about me.
Sometimes you see that coming, sometimes you don’t. I look at it as simplifying things. I’m a car. Everybody likes me. I look good, I’m a nice car. Now that you’ve bought me, I’ve got to get you to like me for just being me. Not because I have power doors or a leather interior.
I realize I get to meet a lot of people because I’m Shaq. A lot of doors open that way. But once you say hello, shake my hand, I’ve got to make you like me for me. I learned that at an early age.
What I never learned was how to have courting skills. I never had to. Regular guys learn how to date, talk to the parents. Not me. I never really mastered that. Now all of a sudden I get to LSU, and bam! I’ve got everyone’s attention with my silliness.
You know as well as I do relationships are about maintaining. For ten years I never had to take anyone out to dinner. It wasn’t the big stuff, it was the small stuff, and that’s my fault.
I had things to do. I was trying to win, trying to make some money. I admit I wasn’t the best partner. I just didn’t know how. I’m learning now.
I’m lucky to have met Nicole Alexander. Nikki is fun, she’s outgoing, and she has a wild side. We’re two wild people who truly respect each other, two wild people who have been hurt too many times, and we’re ready to settle down.
At one time my ex-wife Shaunie and I were happy, but I admit it—I was a guy. I was a guy with too many options. Choosing to be with some of those women, well, that’s on me. In my mind, I never did it disrespectfully, but obviously I shouldn’t have done it all.
With Nikki, I don’t. We’ve been together a year now, and I’m trying hard to keep myself on the straight and narrow. I’d like to think I’ve learned my lesson, and become a better man. Nikki and I have a contract. I talk about all the bad stuff that’s happened to me, and she talks about all the bad stuff that’s happened to her, and we’ve promised each other it won’t happen to us.
It’s different with Nikki. We do stuff on the fly. One day we rented a tandem bike just for the hell of it. I need that. I used to be all over the place. She was the same way. Now we’re two wildflowers that have finally bloomed in the same garden.
I bought an RV and we’re going to see the world. Maybe we’ll go on a Shaqfari. Maybe we’ll do a reality show together.
By the time you read this, they will have unveiled a statue of me at LSU. I don’t get excited by very much, but I certainly was honored my school wanted to do that for me. It’s nice they want to have me be part of their permanent history.
My connection to LSU is very strong. I’ve very quietly donated millions of dollars to them over the years. There are so many people there I care about, from secretaries in the athletic department to some of the janitors who still work there. I still stop by the same restaurants, say hello to the same people, and I love that. It feels like my second home. I guarantee if I ran for sheriff in Baton Rouge, I’d win by a landslide.
I hold a golf tournament at LSU every year. Each time I go back, I make sure I go to a football game. When I’m sitting there, it takes me back to that night when they turned out all the lights and shone that spotlight on me. It was my first taste of being a star, and I still get jitters when I think about it.
I’m ready to be done with basketball. I have some regrets, of course. I regret missing all those free throws. I wish I could have found a way to win one more ring.
When I look back on it, I did things my way. Not everyone agreed with the way I went about it. My critics are welcome to say what they like.
But I’ve got four rings—and a lifetime of memories I wouldn’t trade for anything.
Me at three months, ready to play ball—but the wrong sport! (Author’s collection)
At five years old, with my mom. (Author’s collection)
My mom Lucille and me, at three months. (Author’s collection)
Me as a senior talking to the media at Cole High School in 1989. (Bob Daemmrich/Getty Images)
My freshman year at LSU, 1989. (Author’s collection)
On the court at LSU in 1992. (Getty Images)
LSU graduation in 2000. (Bill Haber/AP Photo)
Pat
Williams, Orlando GM, with the winning jersey of the NBA’s No. 1 pick in 1992. (Bill Kostroun/AP Photo)
With Commissioner David Stern when I was drafted in 1992. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Facing off against Patrick Ewing in 1995. (Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
A proud member of the 1996 US Olympic team. (Michael Probs/AP Photo)
Getting beat up by Zydrunas Ilgauskas. (Lucy Nicholson/AP Photo)
The Dunkman at work. (Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo)
With my dad after a Lakers playoff game in 2001. (Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images)
With Phil Jackson in 2004. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Talking to the media in LA. (Lucy Pemoni/Reuters/Corbis)
Sports Illustrated, 1996. (Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
Sports Illustrated, 2001. (Walter Iooss jr./Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
Sports Illustrated, 2002. (John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
With my dad, Sarge (Philip Harrison). (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)
Receiving the key to the city of Miami when I arrived there in 2004. (J. Pat Carter/AP Photo)
With Dwyane Wade in 2006. (Rhona Wise/Corbis)
Swearing in as a police officer in Miami in 2005. (AP Photo/Miami Beach Police Department)
Happier days in Miami with Pat Riley in 2007. (David Zalubowski/AP Photo)
I always respected Dirk Nowitzki’s game. (Vernon Bryant/Dallas Morning News/Corbis)
Gotta eat your Wheaties! (Smiley N. Pool/Dallas Morning News/Corbis)
After winning my fourth NBA Championship—2006. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Me with President Bush in 2007. (Jim Young/Reuters/Corbis)
Yao Ming: a flat-out terrific player who had to retire much too young in 2008. (Matt York/AP Photo)
LeBron and myself in sync in 2010. (Tony Dejak/AP Photo)
Dunkman in Boston in 2010. (Yoon S. Byun/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
With Doc Rivers, signing with the Celtics, in 2010. (Greg M. Cooper/AP Photo)
Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce, and myself. (Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)
I only wish I had been healthier when I was playing for the Celtics. (Charles Krupa/AP Photo)
Kevin Garnett and yours truly. (David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
With Jay-Z. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Conducting the Boston Pops. (Gretchen Ertl/AP Photo)
With Peyton Manning. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
With my brother, sisters, and Mom. From left: Lateefah, Ayesha, me, my mother Lucille, Jamal. (Author’s collection)
My mom (Lucille O’Neal) and my son, Shareef, holding a Spider-Man doll in 2002. (Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo)
My dad and myself with the first President Bush. (Bettmann/Corbis)
Relaxing with my mom. (Neal Preston/Corbis)
At the MTV Video Music Awards in 2004. (Chris Polk/FilmMagic )
On Shaq Vs. with Albert Pujols. (Tom Gannam/AP Photo)
Showing new moves to Justin Bieber on Shaq Vs. (Preston Mack/ABC via Getty Images)
Hanging with Charles Barkley on Shaq Vs. (Greg Zabilski/ABC via Getty Images)
With Bill Russell. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
With Magic Johnson. (Fred Prouser/SIPA)
With Dr. J—Julius Erving. (Shareif Ziyadat/FilmMagic)
On Shaq Vs. with Michael Phelps. (ABC/Photofest)
On the set of Blue Chips with Nick Nolte. (Paramount Pictures/Photofest)
President Obama trying to fill my shoes. (Paul Connors/AP Photo)
With Coach Dale Brown at my retirement press conference. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
SHAQUILLE O’NEAL was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft, out of Louisiana State University. During his illustrious nineteen-year professional career, O’Neal won four league championships. Overall, he scored 28,596 points, grabbed 13,099 rebounds, had 3,026 assists, and had 2,732 blocks. He was named to the NBA All-Star team fifteen times. In 1993, he was named Rookie of the Year while playing for the Orlando Magic. In 2000, when playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, he won the NBA MVP, was the All-Star Game MVP, and was also the NBA Finals MVP.
Off the court, O’Neal is known as a true Renaissance man. He has released four rap albums, conducted the Boston Pops, appeared in several films, and starred in two television reality shows. He’s also trained as a police officer, is well-versed on new developments in social media, and is in the process of finishing his doctorate. O’Neal retired as an active player from the Boston Celtics in 2011.
JACKIE MACMULLAN is considered the nation’s leading basketball writer. A former top player at the University of New Hampshire, MacMullan was a longtime columnist for the Boston Globe and Sports Illustrated, and she now serves as a constant on-air presence on ESPN. She has written several best-selling books, and in 2010 she received the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for her contributions to the game—the first woman ever to have received this honor.
Contents
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
June 4, 2000: Los Angeles, California
San Antonio, Texas, 1989
June, 1990: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
May 17, 1992: NBA Draft Lottery
April 23, 1993: The Meadowlands
December 23, 1996: Los Angeles, California
June 19, 2000: Staples Center
2002: Los Angeles, California
July 21, 2004: Miami, Florida
August 2006: Beijing, China
February 27, 2009: Phoenix, Arizona
December 2010: Boston Garden
June 2, 2011: Windermere, Florida
Photo Insert
About the Authors
Copyright
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by Mine O’Mine, Inc.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Grand Central Publishing
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.hachettebookgroup.com
www.twitter.com/grandcentralpub
First e-book edition: November 2011
Grand Central Publishing is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Grand Central Publishing name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for speaking events. To find out more, go to www.hachettespeakersbureau.com or call (866) 376-6591.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Photos edited by Kate Giel.
ISBN 978-1-4555-0442-8
Shaq Uncut: My Story Page 28