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What Took The Orlando Magic So Long To Retire Shaquille O'Neal's Jersey?

Shaquille O'Neal made the Orlando Magic relevant the moment he was drafted in 1992

Shandel Richardson

What Took The Orlando Magic So Long To Retire Shaquille O'Neal's Jersey?
What Took The Orlando Magic So Long To Retire Shaquille O'Neal's Jersey? /
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The Orlando Magic were a struggling expansion in 1992. 

And then Shaquille O'Neal arrived. Then everything changed. O'Neal turned the Magic into a championship-contending team in a short time. 

On Thursday, the Magic announced they would retire his No. 32 jersey. The news was revealed when Magic CEO Alex Martins called into the TNT pregame show to alert O'Neal.  

“When someone asks who was the first player to officially put the Orlando Magic on the map, the answer is simple—Shaquille O’Neal,” Martins said in a press release. “He took this franchise to new heights, both on and off the court, and his legacy is still felt within our organization today.”

The ceremony takes place Feb. 13 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. My question is this: What took the Magic so long? 

The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat retired O'Neal's jersey long before. While he won a combined four titles with those teams, he was responsible for giving life to the Magic. 

After being the No. 1 pick in 1992, he had the Magic in the NBA Finals in three seasons. He averaged 27.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in four years in Orlando. He was a four-time All-Star and the 1994-95 scoring champion. 

“It was a great four years there,” O’Neal said during the TNT broadcast. “I just wanted to come in and just make a name for myself. ... I’d like to thank the city of Orlando, like to thank the Orlando Magic organization. Appreciate you very much.”

Shaquille O'Neal Once Blamed A Truck Full Of Chickens For Being Late To Practice

Shandel Richardson is the Publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com

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