The End of the Golden Age of Basketball

Jerry Sloan is no longer the coach of the Utah Jazz. The San Antonio Spurs are too old to be competitive. Kobe Bryant is no longer the most dominant player in the game. Phil Jackson has coached his last game after winning 11 championships as a coach. Today, the final nail in the coffin of the Golden Age of Basketball was announced: Shaquille O'Neal has played his final game in the NBA. In Game 4 of the Celtics-Heat series, Shaq only played 3 minutes and 31 seconds and registered no statistics. No points, no blocks, no rebounds. He got 2 fouls very early, and was then never put back into the game. After the game, Shaq was examined by Celtics team doctors and they determined that his Achilles' tendon and calf injuries were too severe to allow him to play in anymore playoff games for any length of time. Shaquille O'Neal will more than likely announce his retirement after the Celtics were defeated by the Heat tonight.

• Magic Years (1992-1996)

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal entered the NBA as the 1st overall pick in the 1992 Draft, selected by the Orlando Magic, drafting him out of LSU. Shaq left LSU after being picked All-American and SEC Player of the Year his Freshman and Sophomore years. He chose to forgo his upperclassman years in favor of being the #1 prospect in that year's draft. The hype quickly became reality as he won Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie since Michael Jordan in 1985 selected to the All-Star Game. After only 3 seasons with the Magic, O'Neal and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway led the team to the team's first NBA Finals appearance where they faced the defending champions, the Houston Rockets. Despite Shaq averaging 28.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists, the Magic were swept in the Finals.

In Shaq's 4th year with the Magic, he was injured for most of the season, but was still selected to his 4th straight All-Star game, a clear sign that he was in peoples' minds as a future star. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals again, but they lost to the eventual champion Chicago Bulls where Michael Jordan would win his 4th championship.

After the 1995-96 season, Shaquille O'Neal became a restricted free agent and was also selected to the US Men's Olympic Basketball Team for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where he would eventually win a gold medal with the 2nd incarnation of the Dream Team. During the Olympics, there was much discussion in Orlando, which happened to be where the Dream Team had their training facility, about how much the Magic were willing to shell out to keep Shaq. Also in the discussion was whether or not the Magic management was willing to give into Shaq's alleged demands of hiring a new coach for the 2nd time in 4 years. Citing a lack of privacy and disrespect by the Orlando media, Shaq did the unthinkable and decided to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.

• Lakers Years (1996-2004)

Citing the desire to play basketball without interference in his private life and not money for his reasons for joining the Lakers, Shaq appeared to do just that for his first 3 season as a Laker, alongside his new teammate Kobe Bryant, who needs no introduction. Kobe was traded to the Lakers shortly after the 1996 NBA Draft from the Charlotte Hornets who Bryant had no plans to play for in exchange for starting center Vlade Divac. Then General Manager Jerry West was called insane for trading his starting center, but a few months later once Shaq signed, it became apparent that this was all part of West's master plan to create a championship team.

Three seasons into the Shaq-Kobe era of the Lakers was nothing special. They were in the playoffs all three years, but they were always defeated by the eventual Western Conference champions, first the Utah Jazz two years in a row, then the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs. The start of the 1999-00 season marked the hiring of Phil Jackson, former coach of the Chicago Bulls, and the start of one of the most successful championship teams of all time.

During their three-peat, The Lakers swept the first 3 rounds of the playoffs and won their 2nd championship against the 76ers in 5 games, becoming the only championship team to ever lose only once in the postseason. In the Finals, they swept the New Jersey Nets, becoming one of the few teams to ever sweep in the Finals. In all three championship wins, Shaq was named the Finals MVP and won the regular season MVP in the 1999-2000 season.

Unfortunately, during the 2002 season, Shaq suffered a serious toe injury that required surgery that would potentially lead him to missing the 2002 postseason. Shaq decided to postpone the surgery, desiring a 3rd consecutive championship over requiring bed rest. In the offseason, Shaq prolonged his surgery saying that "I got hurt on company time, so I'll heal on company time." This was the first hint that Shaq's attitude might become destructive for the reigning 3-time champions. In the 2002-03 season, the Lakers fell short and were eliminated early in the playoff as the #5 seed. In the 2003-04 season, Shaq made a serious effort to recruit Karl Malone and Gary Payton, even though their years in the NBA would command a much larger salary than the Lakers would be able to afford. They joined anyway, citing they wanted to win a championship more than making money at this stage of their careers.

The Lakers eventually lost to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals and the end seemed nigh. Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone did not get along at all, so Malone decided he would rather retire than play any more years with Bryant. Shaq wanted more money to stay a Laker, but the Lakers management felt that giving Shaq the amount of money he requested was unreasonable given his age (32) and his toe injury that he was still recovering from. Shaq was not pleased that the Lakers would rather re-build their team around Kobe Bryant, who Shaq was not in the best of standing with by this point. Another point of displeasure was Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss asking Phil Jackson to leave the team. Shaq was then traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and Miami's 2006 1st round draft pick, which the Lakers would eventually use to pick Jordan Farmar.

• Heat Years (2004-2008)

 After signing with the Heat, Shaq promised Miami an NBA championship and claimed that the reason he wanted to go to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star, Dwyane Wade, drafted in the 2003 NBA Draft. In reality, Miami was not the first choice for the Lakers or Shaq. The trade was originally meant to send Shaq to the Dallas Mavericks, but Mark Cuban was not willing to give up Dirk Nowitzki.

The Heat quickly defied expectations, garnering the #1 record in the Eastern Conference and faced the defending champion Detroit Pistons in a fierce 7 game series in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat would lose by the narrowest of margins, but it was clear that the new-look Miami Heat were here to stay. In the offseason, Shaq signed a 5-year contract worth $100 million. At the time, the contract signing was viewed as a steal since given Shaq's years in the league and championship experience, he would command a much larger salary, so $20 million a year was rather cheap for Shaq. Heat fans also commended Shaq for willing to stay for 5 more years in Miami.

In the 2005-06 season, Shaq injured his right ankle in the 2nd game of the season. After coming back 18 games later, Heat coach Stan Van Gundy left the team citing "family reasons," but it was very obvious that Shaq got his way and pushed SVG out, later calling Van Gundy a master of disaster management, meaning he only knew how to coach in the event of a disaster. Pat Riley was brought back in as head coach and later the trio of Riley, Wade, and O'Neal led the team to their first NBA Finals where they would eventually win against the Dallas Mavericks, the team Shaq was almost traded to. After winning the championship, Shaq promised they would win it again next year, alluding to Riley's infamous proclamation when he was coach of the Lakers. In that case however, Riley was right.

Shaq ended up missing 32 games in the 2006-07 season with a left knee injury, but once he got back, Dwyane Wade got his own season ending injury when he dislocated his left shoulder. During Shaq's injury, he ripped former coach Phil Jackson, calling him a Benedict Arnold in response to Jackson's comments that Shaq was the only player he had ever coached that was not a worker. In the postseason, the Heat would lose to the Chicago Bulls in the first round and be swept, joining the small list of defending champions who were swept out of the playoffs.

Beginning the 2007-08 season, Shaq recorded record lows in every stat, and it became clear that the 35 year old would not be productive as a 37 year old (the age Shaq would be at the end of his contract), even coming off the bench. Shaq was traded in February 2008 to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks after the Heat managed the worst record in the league at that point, 9-37.

• Suns Years (2008-2009)

Coincidentally, Shaq's first game as a Sun was against the Lakers. The Suns would lose the game, but Shaq claimed they only lost because it was his first game with the team and after 4-5 more games, he would return to his normal production, whatever that was supposed to be. Shaq's presence on the Suns was also a way to hopefully combat Tim Duncan of the Spurs after the Suns had suffered a humiliating defeat to them the year prior. Shaq was pleased with his new situation in Phoenix, but he also took time to blast former teammates Chris Quinn and Ricky Davis, as well as former coach Pat Riley. Riley was saddened by Shaq's comments, but Shaq retorted with profanity to the man he once called "the great Pat Riley."

The next season, Shaq did improve, but it was clear he was not the same Shaq that played for the Lakers. Throughout the season, Shaq took as many opportunities to criticize Dwight Howard, viewed as being the next Shaq, former coach Stan Van Gundy, former Lakers teammate Mark Madsen, and Yao Ming. In the end, this was all bark and no bite as Shaq missed the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season. After the 2008-09 season, Shaq was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000, and the Cavaliers' 2010 2nd Round Draft Pick which the Suns eventually used on Dwayne Collins, the Mr. Irrelevant of that year. None of the players the Suns would receive would play any minutes, the Suns preferring to buy out their contracts so they could rebuild their team. The Suns made the Western Conference Finals in 2010, but they lost to the Lakers in 6 games and lost Amar'e Stoudemire to free agency.

• Cavaliers Year (2009-2010)

Compared to his usual press conferences, Shaq had few worlds when signing for the Cavaliers, saying he wanted to win a ring for the king, LeBron James. In February 2010, Shaq suffered a thumb injury, sidelining him until the playoffs. Once in the playoffs, he could not help LeBron James defeat the Boston Celtics in the semifinals, becoming the first team in NBA history to berth the best record in the NBA two years in a row and not make the NBA Finals. After his lone year with Cleveland, his contract expired. When Kobe Bryant commented that with his 5th championship, he had one more than Shaq, Celtics owner Wycliffe Grousbeck felt he could successfully sign Shaq to a 2-year contract.

• Celtics Year (2010-2011)

Despite offers from the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks, Shaq chose instead to sign with the Celtics for 2 years at the veteran minimum salary, for a total of $2.8 million. The Mavericks and Hawks both claimed that they did not sign Shaq because of salary demands. Early on, Shaq admitted he would not be able to compete with dominant stars like Dwyane Wade or Kobe Bryant, saying that his only desire to still play was to make sure Tim Duncan did not win more championships than him, because "If Tim Duncan gets five rings, then that gives some writer the chance to say 'Duncan is the best." He also said he did not care whether he was a starter or bench player for the Celtics, just that he wished to play. Over this season though, he has suffered an unbelievable number of injuries, culminating in his current injuries to his calf and Achilles' heel. The Celtics traded away Kendrick Perkins in the expectation that Shaq would be able to fill-in come playoff time, but that obviously never became the case.

Shaquille O'Neal is the final nail in the coffin of the Golden Age, because he was a contemporary of Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James and got a chance to even play alongside most of them.

Shaquille O'Neal's Career 1992-2011. 4 NBA Championships, 3-time NBA Finals MVP, 2000 NBA MVP, 1993 Rookie of the Year, 15 All-Star Selections, 2-time NBA Scoring Champion, 8 NBA 1st Team Selections, 3-time All-Star Game MVP, and NBA Legend.