Shaquille O’Neal, the face of the NBA during the early 2000s, announced his intention to retire from the league on Wednesday.
O’Neal told ESPN’s SportsCenter Wednesday that he will hold a press conference from his home this Friday at 1:00 PM, presumably to officially announce his retirement from the game of basketball. Earlier Wednesday, he said in a short video on the social networking website Tout that he was “about to retire” (tout.com, 6/1).
In recent months, O’Neal has hinted at a future career in broadcasting. Earlier this season, he joked to TNT that they should “get rid of the other guy” on their popular studio show. O’Neal: “In about 300 days, the other guy’s gonna be in trouble. I’m just putting it out there now. One of them’s gonna have to get out of their seat. The big man’s coming.”
O’Neal was a guest analyst on TNT’s studio show during the 2007 NBA Playoffs.
A star on the court, Shaq’s appeal also stretched into television and movies. He starred in the films Kazaam and Steel, and had two separate reality shows on ABC — Shaq Vs. and Shaq’s Big Challenge.
(Information from ESPNews, tout.com/shaq, nba.com/video)
