Shaq retires....via Twitter

[PackerFanatic]

@Shaq: im retiring Video: TOUT | Life's Moments (http://bit.ly/kvLtE3) #ShaqRetires

Yay for social media :)

PS - Mr. Favre, this is how you do it...

[GrantDawg]

Yeah, I actually follw him and got the tweet (with video). Not a big NBA fan, but always respected Shaq-daddy.

[JediKooter]

Happy retirement Clank Foo.

[albionmoonlight]

Seems like a guy that won't have any problem with retirement. Has about 1,000 other things going on in his life to keep him occupied.

[Rizon]

Dang, I thought he retired like 5 years ago.

[stevew]

Over/under on the Shaq declares bankruptcy thread? I'm saying like 5 years.

[whomario]

Over/under on the Shaq declares bankruptcy thread? I'm saying like 5 years.

how do you figure ? From what i´ve read and heard over the years he actually has a reputation of being pretty savy in terms of business/financial stuff off the court and rather smart and "in contact with reality" in general :confused:

Plus having been paid nearly 300 mio on salaries alone (yeah, before taxes obviously) and propably at least close to that in endorsements (even in 2010 he still made 15 mio in that department) is quite a headstart on bankruptcy i´d figure.

[CrimsonFox]

HOORAY! NOw he can concentrate on his acting career!

http://www.theallmiapodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/kazaam_f1.jpg

[Danny]

Over/under on the Shaq declares bankruptcy thread? I'm saying like 5 years.

Yes, I don't understand this comment at all.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Yeah, I actually follw him and got the tweet (with video). Not a big NBA fan, but always respected Shaq-daddy.

Same here. I always found him amusing.

[JediKooter]

Isn't he a volunteer cop in Florida?

[Tigercat]

Shaq has not only saved well, he has invested very well. He keeps his money situation very quiet, down here we only hear about it when you hear whispers about how its Shaq money that went towards this and that on LSU's campus. (He also does a good job of keeping those type of donations quiet.)

[stevew]

how do you figure ? From what i´ve read and heard over the years he actually has a reputation of being pretty savy in terms of business/financial stuff off the court and rather smart and "in contact with reality" in general :confused:

Plus having been paid nearly 300 mio on salaries alone (yeah, before taxes obviously) and propably at least close to that in endorsements (even in 2010 he still made 15 mio in that department) is quite a headstart on bankruptcy i´d figure.

I think the combo of a later in life divorce, a sudden drop in income and legendary type generosity is a troubling cocktail.

[whomario]

After looking it up a bit more it actually makes more sense, his monthly expenses were revealed when he got divorced and it was a lot of money (850K a month)

But he still has a solid head start compared with other guys ;)

And i think he´ll still pull in some nice money for a few years, now that he has time on his hands all year i´d asume he´ll find some use for his personality (TV apearances, commercials, TV/films, some sort of spokesman for sth ...).

[Danny]

At at that spending it would probably take 25 years to burn through his net worth. And like you said, he'll can probably still pull in several million or so from endorsements and other work.

[Groundhog]

Call me crazy, but I predict that Shaq is going to gain about 200lbs over the next 18 months.

[Danny]

Call me crazy, but I predict that Shaq is going to gain about 200lbs over the next 18 months.

I think that's a more realistic prediction.

[CrimsonFox]

I think he will definitely be hired as a color-commentator by someone for ONE year, after which everyone will realize how they didn't understand a single thing he said, then he will be replaced.

[JediKooter]

They should team him up with Barkley.

[Rizon]

I think Shaq will be the first person on Mars.

[Danny]

I think he will definitely be hired as a color-commentator by someone for ONE year, after which everyone will realize how they didn't understand a single thing he said, then he will be replaced.

Doubt it, Shannon Sharpe is still employed.

[Matthean]

They should team him up with Barkley.

I would feel sorry for anybody who would have to share a booth with those two.

I will never forget watching LSU vs. Arizona. It's one of the rare cases a player absolutely dominates a game single handedly. He was a freshmen and while LSU was ranked, Arizona was #2 in the country with what was deemed the best front court that year and he destroyed them to the point he was leading fast breaks like a point guard. As much as Vitale goes bonkers, this was one time it was justified.

[GrantDawg]

He won't do color commentary. He'll sit at a round desk for pre and post games, and make a 2 mill a year to do it.

[JediKooter]

I would feel sorry for anybody who would have to share a booth with those two.


What could possibly go wrong? :D

[molson]

This is maybe the play that put him on the map. (And Damn, he was skinny once).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br3AaISFc-A&feature=related

[whomario]

Yeah, young Shaq was unreal :)

Also, did you know that he averaged 36/15 on 60% shooting with 3+ assists and blocks during the 15 finals games of the three-peat. ? Sure the competition at the center spot wasn´t top notch but still that is ridiculous :eek:

[CrimsonFox]

This is maybe the play that put him on the map. (And Damn, he was skinny once).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br3AaISFc-A&feature=related

I loved DIck Vitale! Thanks for posting this.

[Atocep]

Shaq was a phenomenal player and seems to be a fairly decent human being. Wish him the best of luck and hope this doesn't mean we see 450lb Shaq on TV within the next 2 years.

I was listening to the radio this morning and Mike and Mike were talking about the same things I've heard since he announced his retirement. His legacy is hurt by playing for so many teams, he never led the league in rebounds or blocked shots. free throw shooting and he wasn't "the guy" on the Miami title team.

Can we get over ourselves with this legacy bullshit that gets tossed around? Is Derek Jeter helping his "legacy" at this point by being overpaid by the Yankees and being such a person that no one will even seriously discuss moving him out the leadoff spot because they're afraid of him? I don't give a shit how many teams a guy played on or how he chose to retire or any of the other bullshit. I don't think there's anything in sports right now that annoys me more than "he hurt his legacy" talk. Am I the only one thinking "who gives a shit?"

Greenberg brought up the fact that Shaq never led the league in rebounds or blocked shots while Dwight Howard has led the league in rebounding 3 times and blocked shots twice. Howard led the league with 2.8 and 2.9 blocked shots per game. Shaq blocked 3.5 as a rookie and had 2.9 or more per game 4 times. Shaq averaged over 12 rebounds per game 5 times in his career so it's not like he was a poor rebounder.

Then they decided to rank their top 5 centers. They had Bill Russell #1 and mainly justified it by saying it all comes down to winning in the end. They then placed Olajuwon above Shaq? They went on to question Shaq's legacy some more because of the number of teams he played for while praising Wilt as the 2nd best center behind Russell (I guess they don't really know much about Wilt).

Don't know why I'm ranting. Shaq is a top 10 player of all time and one of the 3 best centers to play the game.

Also, in the top 5 centers discussion no mention of Moses Malone. Is there a more forgotten all time great in the NBA?

[CU Tiger]

Shaq was a phenomenal player and seems to be a fairly decent human being. Wish him the best of luck and hope this doesn't mean we see 450lb Shaq on TV within the next 2 years.

I was listening to the radio this morning and Mike and Mike were talking about the same things I've heard since he announced his retirement. His legacy is hurt by playing for so many teams, he never led the league in rebounds or blocked shots. free throw shooting and he wasn't "the guy" on the Miami title team.

Can we get over ourselves with this legacy bullshit that gets tossed around? Is Derek Jeter helping his "legacy" at this point by being overpaid by the Yankees and being such a person that no one will even seriously discuss moving him out the leadoff spot because they're afraid of him? I don't give a shit how many teams a guy played on or how he chose to retire or any of the other bullshit. I don't think there's anything in sports right now that annoys me more than "he hurt his legacy" talk. Am I the only one thinking "who gives a shit?"

Greenberg brought up the fact that Shaq never led the league in rebounds or blocked shots while Dwight Howard has led the league in rebounding 3 times and blocked shots twice. Howard led the league with 2.8 and 2.9 blocked shots per game. Shaq blocked 3.5 as a rookie and had 2.9 or more per game 4 times. Shaq averaged over 12 rebounds per game 5 times in his career so it's not like he was a poor rebounder.

Then they decided to rank their top 5 centers. They had Bill Russell #1 and mainly justified it by saying it all comes down to winning in the end. They then placed Olajuwon above Shaq? They went on to question Shaq's legacy some more because of the number of teams he played for while praising Wilt as the 2nd best center behind Russell (I guess they don't really know much about Wilt).

Don't know why I'm ranting. Shaq is a top 10 player of all time and one of the 3 best centers to play the game.

Also, in the top 5 centers discussion no mention of Moses Malone. Is there a more forgotten all time great in the NBA?


I agree.
I was never a big Shaq guy, bu I am not ure there has been a more dominant athlete in our time than 21-24 year old Shaq. Hell they redesigned the fawking goals because he ripped it down on Natonal TV. And call him what you will (aloof, goofy, not serious,etc.) the next Shaq gets in trouble for (being drunk, fighting in public, tax evasion, dozen out of wedlock unsupported kids etc) story will be the first.

Me thinks the NBA would be better with more Shaqs and less Iverson, Marbury, and Bynum's

[JonInMiddleGA]

Also, in the top 5 centers discussion no mention of Moses Malone. Is there a more forgotten all time great in the NBA?

Hard not to think of what you said about the whole tarnishing the legacy thing when you ask this question.

I think the 4 teams in his last five seasons (2 partial ones at that) diminishes the perception of him, probably anything after the mid point of his career does to some extent. If his career had ended when he was 29, he's probably in that conversation but after that, even with some contributions to an okay team in Atlanta toward the end of the 80's, the shine seems to really come off of him.

[DaddyTorgo]

As far as Shaq's place - I was pretty okay with the Sports Center discussion of it that I saw earlier on "best big men"

Tier 1
Russell
Wilt
Kareem

Tier 2
Shaq
Mikken

Tier 3
Hakeem
Moses Malone

So Shaq's a Top 5 Big Man in NBA history...I'm cool with that.

[Tigercat]

Shaq as 4 all time seems right, and its fair to say he is a tier below the other big 3.

This tarnished legacy BS will die off, because it is just that. MJ's legacy wasn't tarnished long term because he scored some points in vein in Washington. Montana's wasn't tarnished because he threw some TDs in vein in KC. But the argument was made when they retired. (And then the argument was forgotten over time.)

No athlete's legacy is really tarnished because they play just pretty well as an older vet instead of superhuman like they did as a younger player. That kind of narrow minded thinking gets lost with time. But of course it makes for good talking head chatter at the time of retirement.

[Atocep]

Personally, I don't agree with Russell at #1. I'd put him in the top 3, but I'd have Shaq and Kareem ahead of him. I'm not a big Chamberlain guy. I'm normally a numbers type of person, but his numbers were attained in selfish ways we'd never see today. There's a reason every team he landed on got tired of him and he was never traded for anything of note.

I'd go Kareem, Shaq, Russell, Wilt and then a dropoff after those 4.

[DaddyTorgo]

Personally, I don't agree with Russell at #1. I'd put him in the top 3, but I'd have Shaq and Kareem ahead of him. I'm not a big Chamberlain guy. I'm normally a numbers type of person, but his numbers were attained in selfish ways we'd never see today. There's a reason every team he landed on got tired of him and he was never traded for anything of note.

I'd go Kareem, Shaq, Russell, Wilt and then a dropoff after those 4.

Devil's Advocate - nobody on the list has more championships than Russell. And it is all about winning, isn't it?

[Atocep]

Devil's Advocate - nobody on the list has more championships than Russell. And it is all about winning, isn't it?


Robert Horry > Karl Malone/John Stockton/Charles Barkley?

[JeeberD]

Personally, I don't agree with Russell at #1. I'd put him in the top 3, but I'd have Shaq and Kareem ahead of him. I'm not a big Chamberlain guy. I'm normally a numbers type of person, but his numbers were attained in selfish ways we'd never see today. There's a reason every team he landed on got tired of him and he was never traded for anything of note.

I'd go Kareem, Shaq, Russell, Wilt and then a dropoff after those 4.

Why do you put Shaq so far ahead of Hakeem, if you don't mind me asking?

[Matthean]

Maybe the biggest thing that bugs me about Jordan doing baseball is that we didn't get to have Houston vs. Chicago. Hakeem vs. Jordan in those two years would have been epic.

[Atocep]

Why do you put Shaq so far ahead of Hakeem, if you don't mind me asking?

I don't mean to knock Hakeem. He'd be my 5th center with Moses and David Robinson behind him. Then another dropoff.

I put Shaq above Hakeem because I just think Shaq was the more dominant player before age got the better of him. In his prime Shaq was 2nd to Jordan as far as just truly unstoppable players that I watched play. If he got the ball in the paint you either fouled him or watched him score from within 3 feet of the rim. Both were solid passers and they were similar on the boards. On the offensive end though Shaq was Wilt without the selfishness.

The area Hakeem does edge Shaq is defense. Shaq was an above average defender for the better part of his career and even in the latter part of his career he had some value as a guy that you couldn't move. Hakeem, on the other hand, was an outstanding defender.

Honestly, my opinion of Wilt's career isn't as high as a lot of others. If I were building a team of all time greats I don't think I'd touch Wilt. I don't know why I put him in the top 4 other than I feel I'm supposed to, but I'd probably take 6 or 7 centers before him with Hakeem obviously being first in line after Kareem, Shaq, and Russell.

[stevew]

Why do you put Shaq so far ahead of Hakeem, if you don't mind me asking?

I can't imagine if the choice was Hakeem or Shaq that anyone would take Hakeem first.

Which isn't to say that Hakeem is chopped liver or something cause he was amazing at times. But Shaq was a generational type talent.

[stevew]

Dola-

All the players in NBA history are available to be drafted in our fantasy world. All of them are in their prime.

1.1 Gotta be MJ?
1.2 Shaq?

And I guess I'm not saying that Shaq is the 2nd best player ever. But he's clearly a unique talent and was basically unguardable unless you had 18-24 fouls to give.

[Atocep]

Dola-

All the players in NBA history are available to be drafted in our fantasy world. All of them are in their prime.

1.1 Gotta be MJ?
1.2 Shaq?

And I guess I'm not saying that Shaq is the 2nd best player ever. But he's clearly a unique talent and was basically unguardable unless you had 18-24 fouls to give.

Jordan is the obvious #1. After that I'd be torn between Shaq and Kareem. No one else is really in the discussion for the top 3 picks IMO.

[stevew]

I think Magic merits some consideration. Assuming he uses condoms in our fantasy world and doesn't miss several seasons. But the supply of elite big men is relatively low so that is important I suppose.

[CrimsonFox]

Dola-

All the players in NBA history are available to be drafted in our fantasy world. All of them are in their prime.

1.1 Gotta be MJ?
1.2 Shaq?

And I guess I'm not saying that Shaq is the 2nd best player ever. But he's clearly a unique talent and was basically unguardable unless you had 18-24 fouls to give.

if I say Kobe, does that make me a bad person?

[DaddyTorgo]

if I say Kobe, does that make me a bad person?

Yes :D

[Galaxy]

Shaq's press conference is interesting as expected.

[stevew]

I forgot about this...

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[Radii]

Shaq's press conference is interesting as expected.

funny and likable as always