Shaquille ONeal is known for many things, but mostly for his basketball talent and 7’1” stature. He has coined many nicknames for himself such as Superman, The Diesel, The Big Aristotle, The Big Baryshnikov, M.D.E (Most Dominant Ever), L.C.L. (Last Center Left), and even Doctor Shaq. For most of us, he’ll always be known just as “Shaq.”

ONeal left LSU after his junior year when he was drafted by the Orlando Magic. He would later finish off his studies at LSU during his summers off from basketball, and would get his BA in general studies with a political science minor. He never regretted leaving school early, as after spending that first summer working under basketball pro Magic Johnson, ONeal was then named the Rookie of the Year and voted into the All-Stars.

As a free agent after the Olympics, ONeal sought a change of location, and became a Los Angeles Laker, signing the largest ever sport sports contract at the time, a seven year deal for 120 million dollars. His first year as a Laker, he was injured once again, yet that year and the next, the Lakers still went to the playoffs. During Shaq’s third season with the Lakers, Kobe Bryant joined the team, and the following season Phil Jackson became their new coach as he implemented ONeal and Bryant into his triangle offense scheme. This brought the Lakers three consecutive NBA titles, with ONeal named the MVP of each of them and the MVP of one of those regular seasons.

ONeal started to find his way into the entertainment world, pursuing both music and acting. He has recorded six albums, although only the first one, Shaq Diesel, went gold. His first movie, Blue Chips, wasn’t much of a stretch for ONeal as he played a college basketball player. In his next movie, Kazaam, he played the title character, a genie, and in Steel, ONeal starred as a weapons designer, appearing with Annabeth Gish, Judd Nelson, and Richard Roundtree.