40 Facts About Jermaine O'Neal

Jermaine O'Neal was unable to break into the first team in Portland and was traded to the Indiana Pacers in 2000.

Jermaine O'Neal found his love for athletics at a young age.

Two of his basketball heroes are Hakeem Olajuwon and Bill Russell; Jermaine O'Neal often marveled at Olajuwon's approach to the game, while he loved watching Russell's video highlights of his duels with Wilt Chamberlain.

Jermaine O'Neal scored poorly on the SATs, and Glymph advised against him making the leap to the NBA.

Jermaine O'Neal was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers as the 17th pick in the 1996 NBA draft.

Jermaine O'Neal became the youngest player at 18 years, three months and eleven days to score 20 points in a game on January 22,1997, against the Seattle SuperSonics.

Jermaine O'Neal was having increasing doubts about his NBA career.

However, in an unexpected move, Portland showed their willingness to invest in Jermaine O'Neal by offering him a four-year contract worth $24 million.

Portland acquired Detlef Schrempf, Scottie Pippen, and Steve Smith during the 1999 offseason, which meant that Jermaine O'Neal was consigned to the bench.

Jermaine O'Neal's statistics remained unimpressive, averaging 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game during the regular season.

Jermaine O'Neal was not heavily involved in any of this action, however.

All of this meant that Jermaine O'Neal arrived in Indianapolis facing intense pressure and scrutiny.

Jermaine O'Neal turned out to be a revelation for his new club and it was not long before he established himself as a key player for his new team.

Jermaine O'Neal kept up his form into the playoffs as well, averaging almost 9.8 points and 12.5 boards a game in the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers, although the series was short-lived as the latter emerged victorious in four games.

Brad Miller's father-in-law and Tinsley's mother died during the season, and just before the playoffs, Jermaine O'Neal's stepfather attempted suicide.

Much as it was tempting for Jermaine O'Neal to make the switch, he opted not to uproot his family and signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Pacers.

Jermaine O'Neal remained a constant double-double threat, averaging 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds a game in the regular season.

Jermaine O'Neal continued to rack up individual honors, making his third All-Star trip and being named to the All-NBA Second Team.

Jermaine O'Neal finished third in NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting.

Jermaine O'Neal was one of the Pacers who fought with two fans who came onto the court; he ran to defend teammate Ron Artest, slipped on some liquid, and punched one of the fans in the head so hard that teammate Scot Pollard and sportscaster Jim Gray feared that Jermaine O'Neal would kill the fan.

Jermaine O'Neal appeared in only 44 games, his lowest total ever with Indiana.

Jermaine O'Neal continued to miss huge amounts of time, especially towards the end of the season, as the Pacers struggled to compete.

Jermaine O'Neal had two years and $44 million left on his deal.

Jermaine O'Neal wasted no time in imposing his style on his new team: in the season opener at Philadelphia, he pointed to hecklers in the home crowd after making a dunk; in the team's second game, Toronto's center blocked a dunk from Golden State's Brandan Wright and thereafter waved a finger in disapproval.

On July 14,2010, Jermaine O'Neal signed a two-year deal with the Boston Celtics.

Jermaine O'Neal had a difficult season with his new team, missing 58 regular-season games with left knee and left wrist injuries, playing only 24 games and started in 10 of them, averaging 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 18.0 minutes per game.

Jermaine O'Neal came back in the starting line-up for the 2011 NBA playoffs.

Jermaine O'Neal had a good series, especially in game 1 with 12 points and 5 blocks.

Jermaine O'Neal cited the Suns' training staff as a major factor in his decision to sign with the team.

Jermaine O'Neal has been considered the leader around the locker room to replace the likes of Steve Nash and Grant Hill.

On January 23,2013, Jermaine O'Neal was sidelined by an irregular heartbeat.

In March 2013, Jermaine O'Neal took time off from the team to be with his daughter, Asjia, who underwent surgery to repair a leaky heart valve.

On July 23,2013, Jermaine O'Neal signed with the Golden State Warriors.

On December 13,2013, Jermaine O'Neal underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist.

In February 2016, Jermaine O'Neal noted that he had not yet officially retired from the NBA.

The Americans won all of their five games and the gold medal, and Jermaine O'Neal led the team in blocks and shooting percentage, while finishing second in points and rebounds.

Jermaine O'Neal averaged 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds over eight games.

Jermaine O'Neal featured in every game in that tournament, averaging 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest.

Jermaine O'Neal owned a recording studio named Bogota Entertainment in Atlanta.

Jermaine O'Neal was credited as an executive producer on Netflix film Untold: Malice at the Palace in 2021.