Shaq Announces His Retirement

Shaquille O’Neal, after 19 years in the NBA, announced on Twitter today that he is retiring."We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I wanna thank you very much," O'Neal said in a video addressed to his fans. "That's why I'm telling you first -- I'm about to retire. Love ya. Talk to you soon."

O'Neal will retire with an historic resume -- he's a four-time NBA champion, 15-time All-Star and was named the league's MVP after the 1999-2000 season. For his career, which began with the Orlando Magic in 1992 and spanned stints with the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, he averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks

Last season, his first with the Celtics, was plagued by injuries -- he appeared in just 36 regular-season games and played 12 minutes in the postseason. His contract with Boston has another year on it.

Over the years, O'Neal has become known for a personality that was on par with his on-court production: Early in his career he starred in movies and cut rap records, and later on, he was one of the first elite athletes to embrace social networking. He's been known to come up with creative nicknames for himself -- like "The Big Aristotle" -- and generally developed a larger-than-life persona.

Even in retirement, O'Neal is looking for a nickname, asking for submissions from his Twitter followers in the wake of his announcement. The news hit Twitter by storm on Wednesday afternoon -- #shaqretires, a hashtag he himself created, and "Kazaam," a 1996 movie in which O'Neal played a rapping genie, were both trending in the United States almost immediately after his announcement.

Orlando drafted O'Neal with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. He immediately established himself as a force, both on and off the court. In 1994-95, his third season, O'Neal led the league in scoring (29.3 ppg) and led the Magic to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Houston Rockets.

In 1996, O'Neal signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. He, along with Kobe Bryant, led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles from 1999-2001. The two struggled to coexist in the years that followed, establishing a long-running rivalry in the process, and O'Neal was traded to the Heat, where he won his fourth and final title alongside Dwyane Wade in 2006.

Miami traded O'Neal to the Suns in the middle of the 2007-08 season. In 2008-09, O'Neal experienced a return to form after struggling with injuries, averaging 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds.

In that offseason, the Suns traded him to Cleveland, where he vowed to help LeBron James bring home a title. That didn't happen, and after James left Cleveland for Miami, O'Neal signed with the Celtics.