Orlando Magic to retire Shaquille O'Neal's No. 32 jersey at ceremony in February
Orlando Magic to retire Shaquille O’Neal’s No. 32 jersey at ceremony in February
The Orlando Magic are set to retire a player’s number for the first time ever. The team announced Thursday that Shaquille O’Neal’s No. 32 jersey will be retired on Tuesday, Feb. 13. The ceremony will take place at the Kia Center after the Magic’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
O’Neal, who was the first pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, was one of the league’s most dominant forces early in his career and was crucial to helping the Magic find their footing after the team was founded in 1989.
“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 statement. “He took this franchise to new heights, both on and off the court, and his legacy is still felt within our organization today. On behalf of the DeVos family, we are excited to honor Shaquille by raising #32 into the rafters of the Kia Center, where it will remain forever.”
O’Neal made a statement early by winning Rookie of the Year after averaging 23.4 points and 13.9 rebounds in his first pro campaign. He led the Magic to the NBA Finals in 1995 and posted four All-Star seasons before joining the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of the 1996-97 season. While O’Neal’s longest stint with any team came in Los Angeles, he remained a generous and influential figure in Orlando after his departure.
“Through his dominating play, larger-than-life personality, and generous contributions to The City Beautiful, Shaquille O’Neal had a transformational impact on this team and this town,” Magic chairman Dan DeVos said. “Our family and the entire franchise couldn’t be more pleased for Shaquille to receive this well-deserved honor, further cementing his enduring legacy here in Orlando as we collectively look back on his tremendous accomplishments in a Magic uniform.”
While the honor was announced via social media, the larger-than-life athlete found out about the ceremony in a segment on TNT ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs matchup. In a prerecorded video, Martins congratulated O’Neal on his career and informed him about the honor.
As confetti rained down on the TV set, O’Neal joked about the time he thought he was getting his number retired during a ring of honor ceremony.
“You know what’s funny, so a couple of years ago, they did the ring of honor,” O’Neal recalled. “And I thought I was getting my jersey retired. So when I went there, I’m waiting to do the thing, so they take me [to the] top floor and they just have like a wall, they did this thing [and] they did the press conference — [I was like,] ‘That’s it. I thought I was getting my jersey retired.’ [They said] ‘Man, we don’t do that here.'”
Jokes aside, O’Neal did share his appreciation for his time with the Magic. “I would like to thank the DeVos family,” O’Neal said. “I wish the old man was still alive. He meant a lot to me, him and his family.
O’Neal entered the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame in 2015 and has already had his No. 34 and No. 32 uniform numbers retired by the Lakers and Miami Heat, respectively.