Jermaine O'Neal

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Jermaine L. O'Neal (born October 13, 1978, in Columbia, South Carolina) is an American National Basketball Association player who currently plays for the Indiana Pacers.

O'Neal, a 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), 260 lb (118 kg) forward-center, declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA Draft straight out of high school and was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 17th pick of the first round.

[edit] NBA career

In Portland, O'Neal spent most of his time coming off the bench. Jermaine averaged 10.77 minutes and 3.75 points per game during his 4 years with the Trail Blazers.^[1] He became the youngest player to play in an NBA game at the age of 18 years and one month (a mark has since been eclipsed by Andrew Bynum^[2]).

During the 2000 off-season, O'Neal was traded to the Indiana Pacers along with Joe Kleine in exchange for Dale Davis. At Indiana, O'Neal was named a starter and became a standout player, averaging 12.9 points in his first season, three times more than any season he had at Portland. His averages continued to improve in the following seasons. In the 2001-02 season, O'Neal averaged 19.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game on the way to winning the NBA Most Improved Player Award. He also earned his first NBA All-Star Game selection and his first All-NBA Team selection, being selected to the All-NBA Third Team.

In the 2002-03 season, O'Neal continued to improve and became one of only three NBA players to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. He was selected to start in the NBA All-Star Game and was again selected to the All-NBA Third Team.

By the 2003-04 season, O'Neal was averaging 20.1 points and ten rebounds per game, leading the Pacers to the best record in the NBA, earning an All-NBA Second Team selection and placing third in MVP balloting. In the playoffs, he helped lead the Pacers to an Eastern Conference finals appearance against the Detroit Pistons. However, he was ineffective because of injury, and the Pacers lost to the Pistons in six games.

He was a member of the US national team that finished in sixth place in the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana. Though he helped the U.S. team qualify for the Olympics during the 2003 Tournament of the Americas and was a member of the 'core group' for the Olympics, a knee injury forced him to drop out of the national team that competed in the 2004 Olympics.

[edit] 2004-2005

On November 19, 2004, O'Neal became involved in a massive brawl at the end of a game against Detroit, and was filmed striking a Pistons supporter on the basketball court. As a result, O'Neal was suspended indefinitely by Commissioner David Stern while the NBA investigated the incident. On November 21, O'Neal received a 25-game suspension for his part in the brawl. However, thanks to the urging of an arbitrator just before Christmas, Jermaine won a ten-game reduction in his sentence. He ended up playing in only 44 games.

[edit] 2005-2007

O'Neal fought injuries during the 2005-06 season, and played in only 51 games. Still, he was voted by the fans as the starting forward for the Eastern Conference All-Star team (he was later replaced by Gilbert Arenas due to injury^[3]). The Pacers entered the 2006 Playoffs as the 6th seed. They eventually lost to the New Jersey Nets in six games. O'Neal missed 13 more games in the 2006-07 season as the Pacers missed the playoffs altogether.

[edit] Image

O'Neal is known for his outspokenness on race in the NBA. After the NBA enacted its controversial age-limit to enter the NBA Draft, O'Neal told reporters that he felt that race was a factor on why the NBA has a different standard than other professional sports leagues like the NHL or Major League Baseball (where players frequently enter the draft immediately after high school).

[edit] Career highlights

• 6-time NBA All-Star: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
• 3-time All-NBA:

• Second Team: 2004
• Third Team: 2002, 2003

• NBA Most Improved Player Award: 2002
• NBA Magic Johnson Award: 2004
• NBA regular-season leader, blocks: 2001 (228)
• Holds Indiana Pacers franchise records for:^[4]

• Most blocks, game: 10 (January 22, 2003 vs. the Toronto Raptors)
• Most blocks, season: 228 (2000-01)
• Most rebounds, game, playoffs: 22 (Game 5, 2003 Eastern Conference First Round)
• Highest rebounding average, playoff series: 17.5 (2003 Eastern Conference First Round)
• Most free throws attempted, game: 25 (January 4, 2005 vs. the Milwaukee Bucks)

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Jermaine also played football as a teenager. He was a quarterback on the Eau Claire High School team through his junior year.^[5]
• In the 2000-01 season, Jermaine became the first Pacer in franchise history to reject more than 200 shots in a season.^[5]
• Jermaine’s hobbies include reading, bowling, video games and billiards.^[5]
• On off-days, Jermaine likes to take his daughter, Asjia, bowling.^[5]
• Has an older brother named Clifford.^[4]
• Jermaine owns a recording studio named Bogota Entertainment, located in Atlanta, Georgia.^[4]
• On February 9, 2008, Louisville coach Rick Pitino claimed that Jermaine O'Neal was the recruit he was most disappointed about losing in his coaching career. O'Neal opted for the NBA Draft instead of attending the University of Kentucky.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• / www.j7o.com Jermaine O'Neal's Official Website
• NBA.com Profile - Jermaine O'Neal
• Jermaine O'Neal at The Internet Movie Database

v • d • e United States squad - 2002 FIBA World Championship - 6th place 4 Finley | 5 B.Davis | 6 A.Miller | 7 O'Neal | 8 A.Davis | 9 Pierce | 10 R.Miller | 11 Marion | 12 Williams | 13 Wallace | 14 Brand | 15 LaFrentz | Coach: Karl