Talk:Shaquille O'Neal

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[edit] Wrist

I think it's worth noting that Shaq broke his wrist as a child and now has limited (and i mean really limited) movement of his right wrist. This explains his troubles from the line and the lack of backspin and arc on his free throws. Any experienced basketball player will be able to back me up when i say that the most important part of shooting the ball is the wrist flick upon release (which generates backspin to make the ball roll or skid into the hoop, rather than bounce out), and not being able to do that is as much (If not more)of a disadvantage as Ben Wallace's carpal tunnel problem (Which is mentioned in his wikipedia article). There are plenty of articles on the internet that will verify shaq's injury. also prehaps mention of the sheer size of shaqs hands hampering his shooting ability. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.15.149.209 (talk) 20:52, 4 April 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Publications

Shaq published a short work in Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul called "A Good Reason for Looking Up" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.115.1.85 (talk) 00:32, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] References

The portion with the References needs editing. Some links appear in hml, others are duplicates of the links in External Links (and they should be listed the same way), etc. The Gnome 07:04, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Successful more as a Laker?

I don't know the specifics, but wasn't Shaq more successful with the Lakers than with his past squadrons? This info should be included. Indosauros 15:50, Jul 15, 2007 (UTC)

he got championships with the lakers that he didnt get with the magic, but that is already included in the article. stat-wise, he was about the same on both teams. User:azn king28 18:07 Oct 3, 2007

He had better numbers with the Lakers than Magic, Heat, or Suns, this is true. Basketball110 the pages I've messed up completely 23:39, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

although he had slightly better scoring numbers with the magic, it wasn't until he joined the lakers that he became an exceptional passer and it was his ability to find the open man whilst double-teamed (and sometimes triple-teamed) that made the lakers so successful. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.15.149.209 (talk) 00:01, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Persian name

I have heard that his name is Persian not Arabic, but I can not verify it. Perhaps someone that can speak Persian could help?

From the NBA.com entry : "Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal : First and middle names mean “little warrior” in Islam". They do not precise which language. The Gnome 07:06, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Two Infamous Dunks

The article erroneously claimed Shaq had two "backboard shattering" dunks in his rookie year. This is not true; the backboards did not shatter but the support structure of the baskets collapsed, bringing the basket and (intact) backboard crashing to the ground. I think the two incidents were slightly different in that I remember some kind of wire breaking in New Jersey while the Phoenix dunk just caused the basket to slump and fall down. I don't know the names of these pieces of equipment, and I don't see any information on the "anatomy of the hoop" here in Wikipedia. Hopefully an educated basketball fan can, in better detail, reword my edit. --Feitclub 19:57, Nov 16, 2004 (UTC)

I only remember the Phoenix dunk, it was one of the first plays in the game. The basket support collapsed after Shaq dunked the ball with both hands. The entire basket structure leaned forward slightly before tilting back, paused, then the hydraulics of the support gave. Shaq, meanwhile, stepped away from the basket with a smile on his face. I shook my head in disbelieve at the strength and sheer size of this man-child. -pauyeung

There should be a picture of Shaq with someone else--I remember a picture of him helping out with Katrina in New Orleans, standing next to a normal-sized woman. Shaq is almost unique among humans in his absurd physical proportions, and a picture would demonstrate that best.

Ahh here it is! [[1]] I've never edited Wikipedia before, how do I get this picture in? Also it is not public domain, how do I claim "fair use"?

Here is an image at whitehouse.gov with Shaq beside US president George Bush. Wouldn't this be public domain? And it would display the size difference.

[edit] Tone

This article seems more like a sports editorial and not enough like an encyclopedia entry - perhaps someone who's watching this page can clean it up some? I'm not well-enough versed in Shaq's career but I might give it a go in a few days. ESkog 12:00, 19 May 2005 (UTC)

Awesome

I removed the line that read "shaquille is awesome."--Gregoryg72 06:50, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Military Brat

This article leaves out the fact that Shaquille was an American military brat (child of a military family and grew up at least part of his childhood in the military world--by the way we military brats do not consider the term 'brat' to be a negative term). This was a very unique way to grow up, whether this was part of his childhood or all of it I am not sure, but this fact should be a part of this article. Source: Shaquille is listed as a "military brat" in the wikipedia article entitled "Military Brats subculture" in the section entitled "famous military brats". More should be researched about this and added to this article-- military brats live a very different life, face unusual challenges and often have unique strengths as well.

Sean7phil 06:50, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "MBA Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal"

Is MBA used as a title, like Dr. is for somebody with a Ph.D.? I just thought it was an abbreviation for a degree. --Idont Havaname 06:00, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

If there is a title associated with a master's degree, it would be "Master." It would not be "doctor." If there actually are people calling him "Dr. Shaq" because he has an MBA, that doesn't make a lot of sense. Funnyhat 23:11, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Religious beliefs

I moved the reference to Shaq's religious beliefs to Private life. A person's faith can be either public or private, of course. In this case, it seems to be something he hasn't made much of in public--and thus certainly shouldn't go in the introduction. --Tom Allen 21:02, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Agreed. No doubt. - Svest 21:40, 7 October 2005 (UTC)  Wiki me up™

[edit] Vandalism

Someone has been vandalizing this page. I don't know how to determine the IP address of another editor to report him/her.

As of Dec 2 2006, there is very inappropriate vandalism at the beginning of the article claiming shaq is a pornstar in japan. would appreciate it being removed.

[edit] Odd Paragraph

"O'Neal was named "Shaquille Rashaun" ("Little Warrior" in Arabic) by his biological father, Joseph Toney. However, he is not close to his biological father; one of his songs, "Biological Didn't Bother", explains his feelings. He once pulled a prank at military school by setting the fire alarm off and he had to wait until his step-father picked him up at the police station, and beat him."

Doesn't make sense to me. The paragraph starts off by talking about his bad relationship with his biological father, then goes on to give an example of why his relationship would be bad with his STEP father. Can somebody clarify? =) Lantoka 23:56, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

Though I do not know what it means, Shaquille and Rashaun are definitely Arabic names.

Can you offer a source which identifies them as being Arabic? I've done a little looking and found nothing at all on "Shaquille". And everything I've found on "Rashaun" indicates something like the following from thinkbabynames.com:
The boy's name Rashaun is pronounced ray-SHAWN. It is of American origin. Blend of Ray and Shawn, or a variant of Roshan (Persian, Farsi) "daylight."[2]
Mwelch 20:47, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Recent edit in the Media Personality section

An anon added the following to the section on his media personality recently: "Many consider Shaq's biggest weakness his childlike jealousy he has for other people's success." Is there any source for this, or is this just one editor's opinion? --Idont Havaname 02:21, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bigfoot O'Neal

Shaq was 7 feet tall at age 13? wow Talk about early puberty.

He wears a size 22 to 23 shoe, which is by far the largest in the NBA. Most NBA guys wear 15's 16's or 17's, So he has some disproportionately gigantic feet even for his height.

Compare his shoe size even to Arvydas Sabonis who at 7'3 340 lbs wears size 18. Shaq wears 4 or 5 sizes up from even most big Centers like Sabonis.

If ever there was a Bigfoot, it is Shaq.

[edit] Name Origin

"Shaquille Rashaun" definitely does not mean "Little Warrior" in Arabic. Does anyone know the origin of this claim? quadratic 03:49, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

I found a newspaper article that contains that name origin, and cites "his biogrpahy" as its source for that. At the end of the article, specific souces include Contemporary Black Biography and (apprently--it's a little unclear, actually) the book Shaq Talks Back. I'm not sure which (if either) contains the name origin, which as noted above is very much untrue.
24.130.126.57 10:36, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Music Career

SHouldn't there be something about his musical endeavours on the page?

[edit] Lakers section

I haven't read through the entire article, but as someone who has long followed the Lakers closely, I can say that there are a number of factual inaccuracies in the Lakers section. Additionally it's highly POV and written in an un-encyclopedic fashion. Someone should really go through that and clean it up. I don't have time to do so right now, but I will at some point if no one else does. 24.130.126.57 10:19, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

OK, upon further inspection, it seems the Laker section actually *was* much better, but was recently re-written (poorly) by 71.65.245.70. I've restored the old version. Mwelch 06:37, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Shaquille O'Neal is 7 ft 1, 325 lbs according to recent NBA listing

To the best of my knolwedge he's 7-1 to 7-2 WITH SHOES. Standard NBA heights are listed with shoes on. Only some exceptions such as a few very tall players like Ming, Muresan, and Bradley have ever been listed barefoot.

Even the 7 ft 3 1/4 Arvydas Sabonis, the Lithuanian Giant, likely measures close to 7 ft 2 barefoot.

Therefore, it doesn't take a scientist to estimate that Shaq is nearly exactly 7 ft baerfoot, plus an inch or two of size 22 heals = his 7'1 to 7'2 NBA listed height.

I really don't know why the NBA lists guys by their heights in shoes, it seems a bit deceptive.

Fore example, I'm 5'11 1/4 inches barefoot, but with my 1.5 inch healed shoes, I would be rounded up to 6'1 if I were in the NBA.

The reason NBA lists players by their heights with shoes is simple: THEY PLAY WITH THEIR SHOES ON!!!!

Shaq is actually 7'1 barefoot he is one of the few players who are there listed height.

[edit] "very successful"

Besides not being NPOV I think hip-hop and music historians alike would dispute Shaquille O'Neal being "very successful" in the rap music world. I would say he was moderately successful, had a couple of minor hits, but was not at any point regarded as a great rap artist or one who would leave a lasting impression like Rakim or Ice Cube. BronzeWarrior 07:37, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

No disagreement from me, but I think the "very successful" vs. "moderately successful" rap career issue is probably the least of the problems with the Orlando Magic years section. That whole thing could use a re-write. Mwelch 08:15, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

love this page dont chang it

[edit] Meaning of Shaquille

The whole thing about his name meaning little warrior is actually from his bio on NBA.com. However, it doesnt say that it means Little Warrior in Arabic, but "Little Warrior in Islam". I don't know where exactly that interpretation came from, however I know Shaquille means handsome in Urdu and Farsi. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/shaquille_oneal/bio.html Also, there was an LA Times article that mentioned he was Muslim. The article was referring to him and Hedo Turkoglu hugging before each match during the Lakers-Kings rivalry. It says in the article that they are both Muslim so they still greet each other with respect. I will try to find a link to their (LA Times)site and post it.

Fkh82 04:17, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the info. You're right about the nba.com bio. It indeed says it means "first and middle names mean 'little warrior' in Islam". Which, of course, makes it even more incorrect since Arabic is a language and Islam is not. Mwelch 08:51, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
Well, it doesn't necessarily mean its incorrect. A name could mean something in Islam, as in having significance in Islam, but not necessarily be Arabic. The name is Persian or South Asian Islamic, but he could have been given the name "for" the Islamic significance. And since its on the NBA's website, that is probably the definition Shaquille wants it to have. I think the best way to put it is that his official bio says it means Little Warrior in Islam.
That is a good point. As I read the sentence, I took the word "means" to indicate "translates", in the sense of one language to another, which would certainly make the statement incorrect. But I suppose one could argue that "means" could refer to having significance within in Islamic culture and/or religion, as you point out, not necessarily referring to a language-to-language phrase translation. I hadn't considered that. Mwelch 00:08, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

When someone has kids named Shareef Rashaun, Amirah Sanaa, Shaquir Rashaun; that is a clear indication that he is Muslim. Unless he enjoys using Islamic names for fun. I think this should be noted on the article, because it says that his religion is not known

[edit] Altercations

O'Neal is also noted for his ability to form symbiotic relationships with young, talented guards. Playing alongside him, talents like Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade blossomed into legitimate superstars, and later had altercations with them.

Er, I dont think Shaq has had any fights of note with Wade. Someone should fix that.

-Deleted- innapropriate...

[edit] Npov

"Excellent", talking about his attributes at center seem pov to me.

Antonio Miami Heat Martin

[edit] Jersey change

Can we have an explination on why he chaned his jersey from 32 to 34 in 1996 when he went to the LA Lakers?

32 was MAgic Johnsons number which was retired.

Why isn't this information in the article?

[edit] Shaq Website

I can't figure out how to add a link to the main page, but this website has more shaq pictures than i've been able to find ANYWHERE www.shaqattaq.net and click on the link that has pictures. If someone who knows how to add it to the links, please do.

[edit] First Bit of Trivia

There are punctuation errors in the first bit of trivia that deals with his visit to Greece. In addition, the bit of trivia is unsourced and seems rather derogatory. It paints him as a fool who doesn't know what the acropolis is. Unless it has a valid source, I would remove it.

[edit] MCDRLx's Revert

User MCDRLx made some changes to 'Highlights' section and tagged it as 'rv'.

  • 2-time All-Dunkadelic Team Section: and
  • Second Team : 2005, 2006 entries were removed. I just wanted to say that they were on the highlights section before my revert.Can someone find information about the entries above? Bugtrio | Talk 20:38, 27 September 2006 (UTC)
This whole "Dunkadelic" terminology thing is a neologism that's being pushed by a gentleman named Derrick Vaughn. He seems pretty persistent with it, and to his credit he seems to have put a lot of time and (original) research into it. But the bottom line is that the whole thing is his creation and not at this point in any way mainstream. His adding that mention here as well as creating new articles for "Dunkadelic" and "The Dunkadelic Era" were basically an attempt to further his campaing to push the term mainstream.
Best of luck to him in his endeavor, but using Wikipedia as a vehicle to that end isn't at all appropriate. If and when it becomes mainstream, then wonderful. But until then, it doesn't belong here. The two articles he created have therefore already been deleted, and the deletion of the Dunkadelic mention in this article also equally appropriate. Mwelch 21:28, 27 September 2006 (UTC)
OK.Thanks :) --Bugtrio | Talk 21:42, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

On Shaquille's Discography, it shows Superfriends Vol. 1 as being unreleased. This is true, but Shaq teamed up with burnlounge.com where the album can be downloaded. Anyone want to take a crack at how to add this?

[edit] SHACK ATACK!!!!

mandamufugabeshakatakinaldemsoldladies.

i deleated this comment from the article. it is plainly vandalism. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Allatropic (talk • contribs) 13:39, 4 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Younger Brother?

Didn't Shaq have a younger brother of comparable dimensions who was pursuing a career in basketball? I didn't see him mentioned, nor do I recall his name. --Do Not Talk About Feitclub (contributions) 22:52, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

His brother's name is Jamal Harrison. Big guy, but not as big as O'Neal. I think Harrison is like 6' 6", or something like that. He played a couple of season for LSU several years ago, but that's about it, to my knowledge. Mwelch 23:55, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
I actually went to high school with Jamal--he was a funny guy. He was in my drama class, of all things. Our first project in the class (with others involved) was putting together "Peter Pan in the Projects", with him playing "Puffy" Pan.
But basketball? I saw him play one game on the high school team and his mechanics were sloppy. He often mishandled the ball, and was very mundane. SlayerRob 24:00, 56 January 2023 (UTC)

[edit] Dr. Shaq?

In the second paragraph of this page, it refers to Shaquille O'Neil as "Doctor" Shaq as a result of earning his MBA. However, an MBA is a Master's degree, not a doctorate. No one is, or should be refered to, as "Doctor" after earning a Master's. Should this reference be changed?

It's a nickname. No reason to take it that seriously. If it were to be removed, the reason would not be that, but rather simply because it's one of a myriad of nicknames he's given himself at various times, often with tongue planted firmly in cheek. While certain ones like "Big Aristotle" are pretty memorable, others, like "Doctor Shaq" don't last any longer than that evening's episode of SportsCenter. So I'm not sure that "Doctor Shaq" is really any more notable than any of a dozen or so of his other nicknames-of-the-month. Mwelch 15:39, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
What about "tha Dizzle" isn't that one of his nicknames? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Tayquan (talk • contribs) 05:35, 19 March 2007 (UTC).
I'm going to add "Tha Dizzle" in a week if I get no response. Tayquan 11:09, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Free Throws

There are inconsistencies in the reporting of shaq's free throw percentage. It says he led the league for a long time in the stats section, but the text below it (Hack-a-Shaq) claims his percentage is low.

I could be overlooking it,, but I don't see anything in the article that claims he ever led the league in free throw percentage. Mwelch 00:52, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I wonder if the above poster means Field Goal percentage, because the only way Shaquille O'Neal would ever lead the league in Free Throw percentage is if people with two arms were banned from playing in the league

[edit] Image

This image sucks. It's blurry, the pose is awkward, and it's just not interesting. Anyone have a better one, a publicity image maybe? 216.165.38.83 23:23, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

See WP:Fair Use. Quadzilla99 23:03, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] wtf?

how can shaq still be friends with kobe when he is in miami heat and what happens when they vs each other and form a rivalry from a friendship?

[edit] Thank you Shaq

As a single mother of two, I rarely have time to watch television...however, tonight was the first time that I sat with my 9 year old to watch your program "Shaqs Challenge". For my daughter who is 109lbs and considerably overweight for her age, your show was exactly that, a challenge. For me on the other hand, a mother who works all day and worries with every passing moment who will say what to my child and what will she be eating, it was the most effective display of primetime television that I have seen in quite some time. You have inspired my daughter to be better, to push herself, to want to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to be her ultimate best! For that I thank you. As a mother of two who has never dealt with weight issues, this has become my challenge. Your show, and your willingness to improve the overall quality of healty in our youth has proven to be monumental. Having said that, any assistance that I may be able to provide you with your challenge, please count me in.

Thank you for inspiring my child to want to be better, be healthier, and strive for the utmost health. You are a true inspiration and I am proud that my child idolizes you as her all time favorite Basketball All Star! You are a hero in my eyes.

Thank you,

Mary Del Pino mkdelpino@hotmail.com

[edit] Pre-professional basketball experience

I'm new to Wikipedia, so I don't know who to report this to. The pre-professional basketball experience information is obviously wrong, but I don't know who to or how to notify somebody. That's all.

Drmarkan 17:08, 24 August 2007 (UTC)drmarkanDrmarkan 17:08, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 12 ft 6 in??

Upon seeing the 12-foot, 6-inch, 1224-pound O'Neal, the visiting Brown reportedly mistook the then-13-year old boy for a soldier. This is under 'Pre-professional basketball experience'. Not sure what is supposed to be said so I'm going to leave it to someone else.

[edit] Doctorate

If he completes a doctorate in criminology, will he have to turn himself in for making Kazaam, or is he simply trying to understand what drove him to it? Titanium Dragon (talk) 07:27, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

Very funny, but this is not what the talk page is for. Leebo T/C 21:26, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Traded

Traded to Phoenix today fyi 64.148.241.133 (talk) 08:14, 6 February 2008 (UTC).

Not yet. No official reports yet, and we probably won't see any until tomorrow. I'm fairly certain that's why the page is semi-protected. When it happens, it needs to be properly sourced and added. Snowfire51 (talk) 08:20, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Now it's official. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.232.168.30 (talk) 23:23, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Why?

Are his albums and movies listed? They are absolutely dreadful! haha -FancyMustard (talk) 19:02, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Weight

How heavy is Shaq? This article lists him at 375lbs AND 330lbs in different places, while NBA.com lists him at 325. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.99.139.105 (talk) 04:16, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

I reckon you should go by the NBA.com weight. --91.84.113.46 (talk) 06:04, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Shaq Fuboxart.JPG

Image:Shaq Fuboxart.JPG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 04:48, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] My Changes (User:Udonknome)

I've made lots of changes to this article, and right now i feel guilty for not discussing any of them.

  • I cleaned up the intro as it was too messy
  • expanded the Suns' section
  • moved content from the introduction intro other sections
  • put "Education" and "police officer.." into one section (please someone come up with a better name than "Off court"; it really sucks!)
  • expanded the music career with a small paragraph (there are lots of sources for this!) and moved the "non-professional" parts of the article down (personal life, off court, media etc.) the page.
  • I also added an adapted template from Template:Notability for the section "Television and video game appearances" (are we stalking him?) and hope this can be discussed. By the way, is there a Template:Notability for only single sections though? I'm almost certain there is one...
  • Also, I tried working out the pronunciation of his full name from Help:Pronunciation but I could easily be wrong.

Nonetheless, any comments, critisism and ideas are welcome. For an overall picture for the mess I did, see here. Thanks Do U(knome)? yes...|or no · 04:11, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

  • Oh, I also fixed the headings for the biography, which was the reason why I started this. Do U(knome)? yes...|or no · 04:18, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Alleged income from teams by O'Neal

i found this on the article, with no sources. I moved this here in order to discuss whether this content is appropriate for the article:

Season Team Salary

1992-93 Orlando Magic NBA $3,000,000

1993-94 Orlando Magic NBA $3,900,000

1994-95 Orlando Magic NBA $4,800,000

1995-96 Orlando Magic NBA $5,700,000

1996-97 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $10,714,000

1997-98 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $12,857,143

1998-99 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $15,000,000

1999-00 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $17,142,858

2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $19,285,715

2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $21,428,572

2002-03 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $23,571,429

2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers NBA $26,517,858

2004-05 Miami Heat NBA $27,696,430

2005-06 Miami Heat NBA $20,000,000

2006-07 Miami Heat NBA $20,000,000

2007-08 Miami/Phoenix NBA $20,000,000

Career (may be incomplete) $251,614,005

comments?