Portland Trail Blazers (1996–2000) O'Neal was selected by the
Portland Trail Blazers as the 17th pick in the
1996 NBA draft. The rookie was surrounded by veterans and emerging stars who could show him the ropes in Portland; forming the frontcourt with him were
Arvydas Sabonis,
Rasheed Wallace and
Cliff Robinson. After missing the first 17 games with a bone contusion in his knee, O'Neal made his debut against the
Denver Nuggets in December. At 18 years, one month and 22 days, he became the
youngest player to play in an NBA game (a mark that was later eclipsed by
Andrew Bynum). O'Neal also became the youngest player at 18 years, three months and eleven days to score 20 points in a game on January 22, 1997, against the
Seattle SuperSonics.
1996–97 season Portland was mediocre in the first half of the campaign, but came to form as the
playoffs approached and managed to finish third in the
Pacific Division with a 49–33 win–loss record. While fans at the
Rose Garden harbored thoughts of an upset against the
Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, For the most part, however, he came off the bench and only averaged 10.2 minutes a game. In the
playoffs, Dunleavy opted to go with a more youthful lineup: before the trade deadline, he had acquired
point guard Damon Stoudamire, as well as
forwards Carlos Rogers and
Walt Williams. The move was designed to bolster the team's chances in the playoffs against teams that were bigger and more physical. the Trail Blazers chalked up an impressive 35–15 record and topped the division. Dunleavy—who would later be named
NBA Coach of the Year—led his club into the
playoffs aiming to capture the franchise's first NBA title since 1977. After sweeping the
Phoenix Suns 3–0 in the first round, Portland defeated the
Utah Jazz 4–2 to set up a showdown with the
San Antonio Spurs in the
Western Conference Finals. and propelled San Antonio to win the series (the Spurs went on to win the NBA championship). O'Neal's disappointment at losing in the Conference Finals was compounded by the fact that his regular-season minutes had dropped to fewer than 10 a game for the first time, However, the new deal did not translate into more playing time for the power forward in the
1999–2000 season. Portland acquired
Detlef Schrempf,
Scottie Pippen, and
Steve Smith during the 1999 offseason, which meant that O'Neal was once again consigned to the bench. His statistics remained unimpressive, averaging 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game during the regular season. Up against recent perennial rivals the Los Angeles Lakers, the team relinquished a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter of the pivotal game 7, and lost 89–84. O'Neal was not heavily involved in any of this action, however. With back-to-back Conference Finals disappointments coupled with a lack of playing time, he soon announced his intention to be traded.
Indiana Pacers (2000–2008) 2000–01 season: First season with the Pacers The trade was greeted with surprise by the Indiana fans as the Pacers had just come off an appearance in the
2000 NBA Finals, and the trade involved losing a quality player for an unproven commodity in O'Neal. At that time, Indiana was rebuilding and still revolved around veteran All-Star
Reggie Miller. O'Neal turned out to be a revelation for his new club and it was not long before he established himself as a key player for his new team. Starting in 80 of the 81 regular-season games he played in for the
2000–01 season, his statistics improved significantly as he averaged 12.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. he also led the league in total blocks (228, a franchise record), where they faced one of the hottest teams in the league at that time, the
New Jersey Nets. The Pacers lost the series in 5 games, despite forcing
overtime twice. and had the best record in the East by the time the All-Star break arrived. who could only finish the season 48–34. When the season ended, O'Neal tried to keep his focus on basketball and considered the possibility of joining another team since he was now a free agent. The
San Antonio Spurs, led by two-time NBA champion
Tim Duncan, looked an interesting proposition as perennial All-Star
David Robinson had just retired. Much as it was tempting for O'Neal to make the switch, he opted not to uproot his family and signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Pacers. Even so, the offseason produced a few surprises for O'Neal when Isiah Thomas was replaced by
Rick Carlisle, and Brad Miller left for the
Sacramento Kings. He remained a constant double-double threat, averaging 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds a game in the regular season.
2004–05 season: Suspension and career high in scoring The Pacers looked to build on their previous campaign in the
2004–05 season, but all their plans came apart on November 19. In a game against the Pistons at
The Palace of Auburn Hills, a brawl named "
The Malice at the Palace" broke out that spilled into the stands, after a fan threw a drink on Indiana Pacer Ron Artest. O'Neal was one of the Pacers who fought with two fans who came onto the court; he ran to defend teammate
Ron Artest and punched one of the fans in the head so hard that teammate
Scot Pollard and sportscaster
Jim Gray feared that O'Neal would kill the fan. As he and his Pacer teammates left the court, many enraged fans threw snacks, drinks, and even a folding chair at O'Neal. In response to O'Neal's actions during the brawl, NBA Commissioner
David Stern suspended him for 25 games; teammates Artest and
Stephen Jackson were suspended for the rest of the season and 30 games, respectively. O'Neal appeared in only 44 games, his lowest total ever with Indiana. Although his scoring average improved to 24.3 points per game, his rebounding dropped and he was no longer the same intimidating presence on defense. Things worsened when he sprained his right shoulder in March and played sparingly for the remainder of the regular season, while hoping to recover in time for the
playoffs. The Pacers entered the
playoffs as the sixth seed. They eventually lost to the New Jersey Nets in six games. O'Neal missed 13 more games in the
2006–07 season as the Pacers missed the playoffs altogether. O'Neal continued to miss huge amounts of time, especially towards the end of the season, as the Pacers struggled to compete. O'Neal's production and stats declined as well. He had two years and $44 million left on his deal. The Pacers were looking to move the huge contract. On June 25, 2008, it was reported that O'Neal and the 41st pick in the
2008 NBA draft,
Nathan Jawai would be sent to
Toronto for
T. J. Ford,
Rasho Nesterovič,
Maceo Baston and the 17th pick in the
2008 NBA draft (
Roy Hibbert). The trade was finalized on July 9, 2008.
Toronto Raptors (2008–2009) O'Neal was given jersey #6 for the Raptors since his number with the Pacers (#7) was already owned by
Andrea Bargnani. While he was expected to combine with Toronto's three-time All-Star
Chris Bosh to form a strong frontcourt and provide greater rebounding and interior defense for the Raptors, O'Neal's arrival was dwarfed by the
Elton Brand signing pulled off by division rivals
Philadelphia. O'Neal wasted no time in imposing his style on his new team: in the season opener at Philadelphia, he pointed to hecklers in the home crowd after making a dunk; in the team's second game, Toronto's center blocked a dunk from
Golden State's
Brandan Wright and thereafter waved a finger in disapproval. Even so, it took O'Neal some time to find his offensive game: he reached the 20-point mark just twice in his first 23 games, before notching three straight thereafter. By the All-Star break, injuries had ruled the big man out for almost a quarter of Toronto's games, while Bargnani regained his starting spot with a streak of solid performances. This, coupled with the Raptors entering the break placed 14th in the conference and 13 games under .500, Toronto General Manager
Bryan Colangelo looked to move O'Neal to bring in a wing player and free up salary space. On February 13, 2009, O'Neal and
Jamario Moon were traded to
Miami for
Shawn Marion and
Marcus Banks; the latter two had been traded to Miami a year earlier for
Shaquille O'Neal. In his 41 games as a Raptor, O'Neal averaged 13.5 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. In the first round of the playoffs, the
Atlanta Hawks defeated the Heat in seven games. He had a difficult
season with his new team, missing 58 regular-season games with left knee and left wrist injuries, playing only 24 games and started in 10 of them, averaging 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 18.0 minutes per game. O'Neal came back in the starting line-up for the
2011 NBA playoffs. Boston (third seed) faced the New York Knicks in the first round. O'Neal had a good series, especially in game 1 with 12 points and 5 blocks. Boston swept the Knicks, but lost to the eventual
Eastern Conference champions, the Miami Heat, in the second round in five games. On April 20, 2012, he was waived by the Celtics following season-ending wrist surgery. In 25 games, he averaged 5.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
Phoenix Suns (2012–2013) On August 15, 2012, O'Neal signed a one-year contract with the
Phoenix Suns. O'Neal cited the Suns' training staff as a major factor in his decision to sign with the team. He has been considered the leader around the locker room to replace the likes of
Steve Nash and
Grant Hill. As a result, O'Neal became a new captain of the team along with
Jared Dudley. On November 21, 2012, O'Neal scored 17 points off of 7 of 9 shooting off the bench to help defeat the
Portland Trail Blazers 114–87. Two days later, O'Neal would record his first double-double with the Suns by scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a close 111–108 overtime victory over the
New Orleans Hornets. On January 23, 2013, O'Neal was sidelined by an irregular heartbeat. O'Neal would return on February 5, 2013, against the
Memphis Grizzlies before the All-Star break. On February 27, 2013, O'Neal scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 105–101 overtime victory against the
San Antonio Spurs. In March 2013, O'Neal took time off from the team to be with his daughter, Asjia, who underwent surgery to repair a leaky heart valve.
Golden State Warriors (2013–2014) On July 23, 2013, O'Neal signed with the
Golden State Warriors. On December 13, 2013, O'Neal underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist. He returned to action on February 4, 2014. Feeling exhausted, O'Neal decided to sit out the
2014–15 NBA season. Despite receiving interest from several teams during the season, O'Neal remained out of action and instead decided to focus on his family. In February 2016, O'Neal noted that he had not yet officially retired from the NBA. ==National team career==