One of the most historic franchise's in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers have announced when they will honor former Laker Shaquille O'Neal with the retirement of his jersey during the 2012-13 NBA season.
The franchise has decided that Tuesday April 2, the Lakers will retire jersey No.34 in honor of O'Neal at halftime of the game against the Dallas Mavericks.
It will be lifted to the Staples Center rafters next to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's #33, Wilt Chamberlain's #13, and the honored #99 that belonged to the first great center - George Mikan.
Shaq spent eight seasons with the Lakers (1996-2004), leading them to three NBA championships. He was named MVP once as a Laker (2000), Finals MVP three times (2000, 2001, 2002) and an All-Star seven times.
After a falling out with Kobe Bryant, Shaq was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, where he led them to a title in 2006.
The question is, will Shaq ever join Magic Johnson, Jerry West and now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in bronze outside Staples Center? His tenure wasn't extended in LA and it finished with some hurt feelings. But there's no denying the success Shaq contributed to while he was there.
Below is a video that highlights some of Shaq's greatest moments in that purple and gold Lakers uniform:
