Magic announce major honor for Shaquille O'Neal

The Magic have been an NBA franchise since 1989, but O’Neal is the first player to have his jersey retired by the team. He was the team’s No. 1 pick in 1992, winning Rookie of the Year and leading the Magic to the Finals in his third season.

But relations between the All-Star big man and the Magic soured ahead of his free agency in 1996. The team could have offered O’Neal any contract, as there was no maximum salary at the time. Instead, they lowballed O’Neal, while the Orlando Sentinel ran a poll asking if O’Neal was worth $150 million.

91 percent of respondents said no, and the newspaper put the results on a billboard visible from O’Neal’s mother’s office. O’Neal quickly signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he won three titles.

But now all is well, and O’Neal’s number will be retired Feb. 13. Having also had his jersey retired by the Lakers and the Miami Heat, where he won a title in 2006, O’Neal becomes only the third NBA player whose jersey was retired by three different franchises. Wilt Chamberlain was honored by the Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors, while Pete Maravich’s jersey was retired by the Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans (Maravich played for the Jazz in New Orleans) and the Atlanta Hawks.

That’s not counting Bill Russell, who only played for the Boston Celtics, but had his No. 6 retired leaguewide.

Now, only the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers don’t have a retired jersey (aside from Russell). While O’Neal was a member of the Magic for only four years, the stretch was so magical that he’s still the best player in franchise history.

Although, they could be celebrating O’Neal in a more appropriate way: retiring the basket support in honor of his violent dunks.