After a mentally exhausting season in which he was unable to overcome the effects of a right Achilles injury as a member of the Boston Celtics, Shaquille O'Neal has decided to retire after 19 NBA seasons.
In typical O'Neal fashion, he chose the unconventional approach of announcing his retirement via social media. He posted a short video on a new social media site called Tout in which he said:
"We did it. Nineteen years baby," he said in the message. "I want to thank you very much, that's why I'm telling you first, I'm about to retire. Thank you, talk to you soon."
O'Neal walks away with four championship rings, three Finals MVP trophies, one MVP award, and 15 All-Star appearances. O'Neal, a two-time NBA scoring champion, is fifth all-time on the NBA's list for career points (28,596) and 12th in total rebounds (13,099).
O'Neal arrived in Boston last August declaring he had 730 days -- or two more seasons -- in his NBA career, but wouldn't survive the first 365. Riddled by injuries, most notably the lingering Achilles ailment, he appeared in just 37 regular-season games and limped through two playoff appearances for Boston, playing a mere 17½ minutes after Feb. 1.
Upon arriving in Boston, O'Neal injected newfound lightheartedness in Boston's training camp and quickly endeared himself to the region with stunts like posing as a statue in Harvard Square, conducting a holiday medley with the Boston Pops, and dressing in drag for Halloween.
But even as the Celtics thrived when he was on the court -- enough so for Boston to consider trading away starting center Kendrick Perkins at the February trade deadline -- O'Neal struggled to stay on the court due to a cocktail of injuries on the right side of his body.
No amount of rehab and medicine could cure the ailing Achilles, which limited him to one appearance after Feb. 1, a 5½-minute stint against the Detroit Pistons in early April that saw him limp right back off the court when the injury flared back up.
O'Neal played small minutes in Games 3 and 4 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Heat before being deactivated for Game 5 as the Celtics season ended in Miami.
