Shaquille O'Neal​

NBA and Olympic champion Shaquille O’Neal led his San Antonio Cole High School team to a state championship in 1989.  During his two years, the team went 68-1, and his 791 rebounds in ’89 remains a state record. That year, he was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game. In 2012, he was named as one of the top 35 high schoolers to ever play in that game. His senior year, at the 1989 AAU Junior Olympics, he led the San Antonio All-Stars to a national championship.​

After playing for the LSU Tigers in college, O’Neal became the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft to the Orlando Magic. He quickly became a force in the league, winning rookie of the year and leading the Magic to the finals in just his third year. In 1996, he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, teaming up with the late Kobe Bryant to become arguably the best 1-2 punch in NBA history. There, they won 3 championships, and O’Neal won his lone MVP in 2000. In 2004, he was traded to the Miami Heat, where he and Dwyane Wade won one championship in 2006. After short stints in Phoenix, Cleveland, and Boston, O’Neal retired after a legendary 19-year career.​

O’Neal is widely regarded as one of the most physically dominant players in the history of the NBA. His laundry list of awards and accomplishments in the league is too many to recount. He has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, FIBA Hall of Fame, and College Basketball Hall of Fame. He remains a significant personality in and around the league.​