Shaquille O’Neal: UoP MBA Graduate May 23, 2009
Posted by admin in : UoP , trackbackShaquille O’Neal was born in 1972. His first two names, that is, Shaquille and Rashaun mean “Little Warrior” in Islam. Lateefah and Jamal are his two siblings. In 2005, Shaquille O’Neal got an MBA degree from the University of Phoenix.
Early life:
At 13, Shaquille O’Neal had shot up to an astounding height of 6 feet 6 inches. After a number of scouts discovered his basketball talent, he became a part of the team at Louisiana State University. During the year 1991, he was awarded the title of “Player of the Year”. He also won the title of being the first All-American during the years 1991 and 1992.
Career: 1993-1996.
During his rookie season, Shaquille O’Neal was awarded the title of being the first rookie to be awarded the Player of the Week title. He was also given the title of being the Rookie of the Year in the year 1993. He made an average of 24 points during all his games. Shaquille O’Neal was given a gold medal in 1994. 2 years later, in 1996, he won yet another gold medal during the Olympic Games that were held in Atlanta.
During the NBA season, Orland Magic and Shaquille O’Neal won all the games till the finals but lost against the Houston Rockets.
Off the court:
Shaquille O’Neal, during the mid-90’s, went on to release his debut album which he named “Shaq Diesel”. He also starred in a movie titled “Blue Chips” with Nick Nolte. He also starred in another movie titled “Kazaam”.
However, these movies did not do well. Despite this fact, Shaquille had established a strong position, both in Hollywood as well as in athletics. In mid 1996, Shaquille O’Neal became a father when his girlfriend Arnetta gave birth to a baby girl.
Move to Los Angeles:
As soon as the 1995-1996 season ended, Shaquille O’Neal took up the post of a free agent. He decided to move to Los Angeles and to join the Lakers. However; this decision was not supported by too many people.
Shaquille O’Neal now owned a purple and gold jersey with the number 34 instead of his Orlando jersey with the number 32. Even though the Lakers were strong due to Shaquille O’Neal, they did not do all that well during the playoffs.
Phil Jackson and consequent success:
The Lakers decided to add Phil Jackson before the 1999-2000 season with the hope of winning the title. This proved to be a good decision as Phil Jackson’s strategy around the court helped them win the title. Their success was heightened when they won the championship, that is, the NBA championship and Shaquille O’Neal was given the title of Finals MVP.
Emergence of Kobe Bryant:
After the previous season, Kobe Bryant who was O’Neal’s prior teammate joined the Lakers. Consequently, the team saw the development of a fierce rivalry between Bryant and O’Neal due to which their game suffered. The Lakers did not do well at the play offs.
This lead to a number of speculations- could the Lakers restore their previous glory?
The answer was yes as the two resolved their dispute and the playoffs did not suffer this time around. The Lakers won yet another title during the year 2001.
A brief summary of Shaquille O’Neal’s Discography and Filmography:
Discography:
Shaquille O’Neal released “Shaq Diesel” in 1993, “Shaq Fu:Da Return” in 1994, “You Can’t Stop the Reign” in 1996, “Respect” in 1998 and “Shaquille O’Neal Presents His Superfriends Vol.1” which remains unreleased.
Filmography:
Shaquille O’Neal starred in:
“Blue Chips” in 1994, “Kazaam” in 1996, “Good Burger” in 1997, “Steel” in 1997, “He Got Game” in 1998, “A Great Day in Hip Hop” in 1998, “The Wash” in 2001, “Freddy Got Fingered” in 2001, “After the Sunset” in 2004, “Scary Movie 4” in 2006 and “The House Bunny” in 2008.
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