SUMMARY
- The Orlando Magic will retire Shaquille O'Neal's jersey.
- Shaq carried the Orlando Magic to the 1995 NBA Finals.
The Orlando Magic have finally decided to retire the jersey of Shaquille O’Neal and hang it in their rafters. As most NBA fans might be aware, Shaq is a former star and is considered by the majority of the basketball community to be one of the most dominant forces that the NBA has ever seen.
Shaq managed to win 4 NBA titles in his career and was an unstoppable force of nature in his prime. He was drafted to the Orlando Magic with the first pick in the 1992 NBA Draft and soon turned the team into a championship contender.
The most DOMINANT player to ever step on the basketball court.
Tonight, @SHAQ will be the first player in history to have his jersey retired by the @OrlandoMagic. pic.twitter.com/KCDZyk7kGJ
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 13, 2024
Although O’Neal was never able to win the Magic a coveted NBA championship, the organization has decided to honor him for the years he spent with the team. By retiring his jersey with the Magic, Shaq has accomplished something special that most NBA players would strive to achieve.
Shaquille O’Neal now has 3 jerseys retired by different teams
After news broke out that the Orlando Magic were going to retire Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey, fans realized that this would be the third team to hang an O’Neal jersey on their rafters. Shaq won 3 NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and helped the Miami Heat win their first-ever championship. Therefore, both teams decided to honor him by retiring his jersey.
Only player along with wilt to have jersey retired by 3 different franchises 🐐 pic.twitter.com/pmIVWub1Vv
— LUUUU (@Game_7_Dort) February 13, 2024
While Shaquille O’Neal did fall short of winning an NBA title for the Orlando Magic, he led the team to the 1995 NBA Finals and even eliminated Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls along the way. However, they ended up losing to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets.
It has also been noticed that the Magic have not retired the jerseys of any of their players until this point in time. This might make fans ponder if any other players in Magic history deserve the same honor.
Should the Orlando Magic also consider retiring Dwight Howard’s jersey?
Keeping Shaquille O’Neal to the side, one could argue that Dwight Howard was one of the best NBA stars to play for the Orlando Magic. Much like O’Neal, Howard was the first pick of the 2004 NBA Draft and led the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals. He even eliminated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the process. However, the team ended up losing to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.