Shaquille O'Neal is playing for his fourth NBA team now in Phoenix, but the bulk of his accomplishments came as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. He gave L.A. three NBA titles, and picked up three Finals MVP awards and one league MVP trophy for himself along the way. All of this would, on the surface, make Staples Center the logical choice to be the final resting place for Shaq's jersey. And if it were up to him, that's exactly where he'd like to see the honor take place.
"Hopefully it'll be here," he said, walking through the hallway in Staples Center. "I was part of the greatest one-two punch in Laker history. Hopefully they still remember that.
"In a perfect world, I have four teams, I'd be the first guy standing there with all four jerseys, number retired in all four places. It's not something I really think about. If I had my first wish, it would be here. Because when I first came here, I made the statement I would love to have my name next to Kareem and those greats."
Seems like a no-brainer, but Shaq's less than amicable split from the team makes it more of a question than it really should be.
O'Neal was openly aggravated by the team's unwillingness to pay him when he was up for a contract extension, and demanded a trade when it appeared the two sides wouldn't be able to come to an agreement. And since leaving L.A., Shaq has been very, um, candid with his feelings about how he was treated by team owner Jerry Buss.
Shaq's contributions to the history of the Lakers franchise are without question worthy of having his jersey retired in Los Angeles. It just might take a little effort on O'Neal's part -- in terms of mending the relationship with Buss -- to actually make it happen.
