http://www.tout.com/m/9944wo

http://twitter.com/SHAQ/status/75996821360615425

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=6615886


Hell of a player. will never forget this....

I guess people never thought he'd have such a spat with Kobe and let his ego get in the way.

and penny was just a disappointment.

he'll always be remembered as one of the greatest Suns of all time

Orlando should have had Shaq and Chris Webber for those early years. That might've been the most dominant front line in NBA history.. but no they had to get Penny because Shaq did Bluechips with him.

A couple of years too late but he had a remarkable career and was the most physically unguardable player one-on-one since Wilt. A great personality and face for the league for many years. The guy took an absolute ton of physical punishment and never really 'went Artest' over it. Probably the greatest compliment you can give a player is the league changing the the rules because of you (i.e. zone defense now allowed). He definitely made his mark.

Good riddance to the big bafoon.

Definitely a GOAT-level player. Seeing him retire makes me feel old.

I can't wait for him to end up on TNT with Kenny and Charles. Awesome.

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I guess people never thought he'd have such a spat with Kobe and let his ego get in the way.

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You mean Kobe's ego right?

Retires:
12th all time in rebounds
7th in blocks
5th in points
19th in ppg
27th in rpg
14th in bpg
3rd in PER (After Jordan and LeBron)
1st in FG%
1 MVP
3 Finals MVPs
15x All-Star
3x all-defense selections
14x All-NBA Selections
8x All-NBA First Team selections

he'll be 6th in points in not too long

Even though he was the biggest underachiever in NBA history given his skill set, he's still a definite top 15 player and probably top 10 player ever. Pretty amazing. Legitimately had a shot at being the the greatest player of all-time if he had put his heart (and body) into it.

It really seemed like he was operating at 80% during his early years, 95-100% from 2000-2003, and then a solid 60% after the Miami title.

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and then a solid 60% after the Miami title

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I'd argue that this was because his body could only do 60% of what it used to.

^That's because he showed up overweight to training camp half of his 19 years.

He came in the league at 290 and left the league at 325, by which they probably mean 350. Amazing he could play for 9 years, let alone 19.

No more Big Shamrock, Diesel, Shaq, Shaq-Daddy, etc....
Gonna miss the big fella, he was good for the game but it was time to retire

"Don't worry about it."

Shaq Fu

He's a guy that will have a miserable retirement. With his joints and weight, Shaq is going to have trouble. He's a guy that I could envision swelling up to 500 pounds.

I thought he would have won more MVPs than 1

Shaq and Ken Griffey Jr. were my favorite athletes growing up. Griffey announced his retirement on June 2 of last year. Shaq comes on June 1st.


He said he's going to hold the official press conference at his house so he can treat the press to lunch and a party afterwards.

Pretty big deal when you can have a phrase named after you, 'hack a shaq' that will probably be around forever. Pop doing the hack a shaq in the first quarter was always fun. He can now commence with his stellar rap career.

[This message has been edited by Makaveli (edited 6/1/2011 5:32p).]

Growing up in Louisiana, I've been a Shaq fan since he played at LSU. The one thing I'll remember about Shaq was that he was always having fun. Whether having goofy press-conferences or acting a fool at All-Star games, he was a big personality for the NBA for 15+ years and injected a lot of life into the game. And as someone mentioned above, he took so much abuse on the court over the years, but just trotted to the FT line even though he wasn't a good FT shooter.

The NBA is gonna miss ya big guy!

shaq >>>> jordan

not a goaltend so suck it

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allstar2008/news/story?id=3251049

Good article about how his absence affected the locker room when he missed his first All-Star game in 2008. I'm sure these sentiments are multiplied with his retirement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-tfwPi4mqo

best Shaq moment ever

always have been a huge shaq fan. he was pure entertainment.

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I thought he would have won more MVPs than 1

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he got robbed in 05 when nash won, and when malone somehow won one. same with when iverson won his

Really wish I'd never met him. Guy was a jackass IRL. I was a fan before that experience.

Remember when Shaq vs Yao was a big deal?

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He came in the league at 290 and left the league at 325, by which they probably mean 350

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The guy is 7'2", not 6'5".
He was 400lbs if he was an ounce.

He played at Cole HS in San Antonio and his state titles ran through my district & HS (Medina Valley). Still don't know how he didn't shatter our non-breakaway backboards.

Shaq is not 7'2".

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements/?year=All&sort2=DESC&draft=0&pos=0&source=All&sort=2

Sort by height.... he was 7'1" without shoes at the combine.... at 20... and he weighed 303....