Shaquille O'Neall retired from the NBA yesterday after a 19 year career that saw him win four titles, three of which coming during his time in Los Angeles. But Shaw skipped around the NAB towards the end there, and it's hard to know where he will be remembered most. But according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers still plan to retire Shaq's jersey at some point in the near future.
"We don't have any specific timetable on this, but you can be assured we will retire Shaq's jersey," said Lakers spokesman John Black in an email on Wednesday. . .We don't have a specific policy on it. As you know, players have to wait five years to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but we could possibly do a jersey retirement ceremony for Shaq prior to that."
This was a little bit in doubt, considering how the relationship was between the team and Shaq when he left the Lakers. And especially considering he chose to spend his final year in the NBA with the Celtics, the Lakers biggest rival. But Shaq put in his time with the Lakers and brought three titles to Southern California. He certainly deserves a lot of credit for that, and it seems like the Lakers are ready to reward him.