How many teams have retired Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey? Exploring the teams that honored the Big Fella

Shaquille O’Neal built an unbeatable legacy in the NBA. From arguably the most dominant player in the league to one of the best, Superman was one of a kind. It is only right that teams retired his jersey after Shaq was done playing in the NBA.

At the beginning of February, the Orlando Magic announced they would retire the NBA legend's jersey. According to the update provided by the Magic, the team has decided to retire Shaq’s No. 32 jersey on February 13th.

The Magic became the third team in the league to retire O'Neal's jersey. Before this, the LA Lakers and Miami Heat put his jersey in the rafters. Orlando is the only team that has retired Shaq's jersey with which he never won a championship.

The Orlando Magic selected Shaquille O’Neal No. 1 overall in the 1992 NBA draft. He played with the Magic for four seasons before signing with the Lakers in 1996. He won three NBA titles and three NBA Finals MVPs with the Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant and legendary coach Phil Jackson.

Shaquille O’Neal is only the third player in the league history to have his jersey retired by three teams in the NBA. He joins the late NBA great Wilt Chamberlain to have the honor. The Philadelphia 76ers, LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors all retired Chamberlain’s jersey.

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Shaquille O’Neal responds to Orlando Magic retiring his jersey

There are only 16 players in the NBA who have their jerseys retired by more than one team. While Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are a few of the players whose jersey was retired by the teams they did not play for, Shaquille O'Neal played with six teams. The Magic become the third team to retire his jersey.

When asked about the Magic deciding to retire his jersey, O'Neal had a very humble response. He thanked the owners of the team for taking a chance on him over 30 years ago.

"I would like to thank the DeVos family," O'Neal said. "It was a great four years there. I just wanted to come in and make a name for myself."

Shaq and the Magic did not share the best relationship since he asked for a trade after the 1995-96 season. Apparently, Orlando did not offer him the deal that Shaq wanted. On top of that, Shaquille O’Neal also wanted a fresh start and to win championships. The Lakers apparently provided him a better deal, which led to Shaq taking his talents to LA.

The Orlando Magic’s decision to put the bad blood behind them and honor Shaquille O'Neal by hanging his jersey in Kia Center was nothing less than a classy move. The Magic’s CEO Alex Martins had a very warm response after he was asked about the decision to honor the Hall of Fame center.

“When someone asks who was the first player to officially put the Orlando Magic on the map, the answer is simple...Shaquille O’Neal,” Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins said in a press release sent out by the team Thursday night. “He took this franchise to new heights, both on and off the court.”

During his four seasons with the Magic, O'Neal won Rookie of The Year in 1993. Just the next season, he led the team to their first playoff appearance. After that, Shaq carried the Magic to the the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance. However, they'd go on to lose to the Houston Rockets.