# Shaquille O'Neal retires **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 1, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaquille-oneal-retires/584000 "2011-06-01T20:11:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaquille-oneal-retires/584000/21 "2011-06-02T14:20:57Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > There was a Bill Simmons article on [Espn.com](http://Espn.com) somewhere where he mentioned this. The speculation was that after Kobe’s 5th ring, Shaq wanted to get even. It was a pretty good article, but I can’t find it now Hey, remember when Bill Simmons was a writer? Those were good times. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaquille-oneal-retires/584000/22 "2011-06-02T22:34:12Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > I can’t really stand the guy personally, but the idea that at the tail end of a $300 million, 4-ring, open-and-shut Hall of Famer career, he was dogging it to steal one last $1 million paycheck from the Celtics is pretty insulting. No, it wasn’t about the money. He wanted to free-ride one last _ring_, the same reason he went to Cleveland last year. As for his injuries, that’s what happens when you don’t stay in shape. Ah, yes, Bill Simmons was a hilarious must-read when he still wrote [bostonsportsguy.com](http://bostonsportsguy.com), before selling out to ESPN. Now he only cares about the NBA salary cap - probably the only person outside the league in the world who does. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaquille-oneal-retires/584000/23 "2011-06-03T00:55:15Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Ah, yes, Bill Simmons was a hilarious must-read when he still wrote [bostonsportsguy.com](http://bostonsportsguy.com), before selling out to ESPN. Now he only cares about the NBA salary cap - probably the only person outside the league in the world who does. For my part, I still really enjoyed most of his stuff at ESPN. I actually think he’s an outstanding _writer_, full stop, who doesn’t get enough credit for the quality of his work because he has the Boston bias and he does the pop culture stuff and whatnot. The annual NBA trade value column is fun every year, and the NFL picks columns every week during the season are really a nice way to kill fifteen minutes on a Friday. The column he wrote when his dog died was really great. But at some point in the last year or so, he’s just become something other than a writer. Now it’s all podcasts, three or four a week, I guess because they’re less work and they’re more fun for him, but frankly they’re usually only OK. I think in the last month he’s written a grand total of three columns. Three in a month! And I’m noticing that the quality of the writing has declined, because he’s not using the skill so it’s getting rusty. Dunno. It’s too bad. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaquille-oneal-retires/584000/24 "2011-06-03T16:23:22Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > And Father Time is STILL undefeated! Father Time performs “That’s How I Beat Shaq.” ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaquille-oneal-retires/584000/25 "2011-06-03T17:15:04Z")
Shaq retired 4 years ago. He just kept walking into the games and collected pay checks. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaquille-oneal-retires/584000/26 "2011-06-03T17:28:24Z")
… and averaging about 18 and 10 per 36 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaquille-oneal-retires/584000/27 "2011-06-03T17:48:26Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Meh, I don’t think so. Definitely one of the top centers, though. > > Who are the best centers? > > Wilt Chamberlain > Kareem Abdul Jabar > Hakeem > Bill Russell > > Maybe then Shaq? I had this discussion on another message board and the consensus top 5 were indeed Wilt, Bill Russell, Hakeem, Kareem, and Shaq, in no particular order. I would give Shaq a slight edge over Hakeem for the 4/5 spot, but I would much rather watch Hakeem play. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaquille-oneal-retires/584000/28 "2011-06-03T18:24:59Z")
> [@storyteller0910](#): > > For my part, I still really enjoyed most of his stuff at ESPN. I actually think he’s an outstanding _writer_, full stop, who doesn’t get enough credit for the quality of his work because he has the Boston bias and he does the pop culture stuff and whatnot. The annual NBA trade value column is fun every year, and the NFL picks columns every week during the season are really a nice way to kill fifteen minutes on a Friday. The column he wrote when his dog died was really great. > > But at some point in the last year or so, he’s just become something other than a writer. Now it’s all podcasts, three or four a week, I guess because they’re less work and they’re more fun for him, but frankly they’re usually only OK. I think in the last month he’s written a grand total of three columns. Three in a month! And I’m noticing that the quality of the writing has declined, because he’s not using the skill so it’s getting rusty. > > Dunno. It’s too bad. Agree with much of this comment, although I wouldn’t call Simmons an outstanding writer, even at his peak. I think his low production lately is due to his efforts in trying to get [grantland.com](http://www.grantland.com/) up and running. Hopefully his written output will increase after that starts. I would like the podcasts a lot more if they came with a transcript. I do not have the time to sit and listen to him BS with Cousin Sal or Jack-O!, etc… for 50 minutes. I’d also like it if he refreshed his pop culture references with things that occurred past 1995 once in awhile. His Book of Basketball however is very very good. Re: Shaq’s place in the all-time greats. I have a hard time putting him past Hakeem simply because of Hakeem’s outstanding defense, while putting up slightly inferior production offensively. I did not see Wilt play, but I have never seen a more unstoppable force offensively, than early Shaq. If you got the ball to him near the basket, he was scoring, or he was getting hacked: you simply couldn’t stop him. What Shaq could have done if he shot even 75% from the FT line… It would be nice if basketball-reference could generate a stat for offense and defense similar to OPS+, ERA+, and WAR, so we could get a better idea of comparing different eras offensive and defensive apples to apples. W/o going through the stats and determining for myself the distribution and standard deviation of points, rebounds, assists, blocks, etc… it is hard to compare centers like Kareem, Wilt, Shaq, Hakeem. Although, when they have to change the rules to nerf you (goaltending) that goes a long way for me of proving that you are a likely GOAT candidate. Then again, I am one of those who feel that Wilt is the GOAT and other than perhaps Jordan, it isn’t close. It’s not his fault that his teams were so much inferior to Russell’s. I am not convinced by Simmons’s arguments to the contrary in his book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaquille-oneal-retires/584000.md?page=1)