Shaquille O’Neal becomes first player in Orlando Magic HISTORY to have his jersey retired: ‘I’m honored – it was definitely unexpected’

NBA legend and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal said during a press conference on Tuesday that it was “absolutely unexpected” that he was the first player to have his jersey retired by the Orlando Magic.

O’Neal’s No. 32 jersey is expected to be the first to be retired in franchise history following Orlando’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

“It’s definitely unexpected, when we did the Ring of Honor thing I thought that was it,” O’Neal said.

“And then I always thought I would probably be second. I always thought you would go with someone like Nick Anderson first because you know he was the first choice.”

“I’m honored to be the first, but it’s definitely unexpected. I didn’t expect this at all, but I’ll take it.

‘No. 32 is going to look really good up there, but I’m very grateful to you guys, your staff and the DeVos family, but like I said when I came back for the Ring of Honor thing a few years ago, I thought this was about what was going on tonight.’

During his four years in Orlando, O’Neal averaged 27.2 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 295 games while shooting 58.1 percent from the field.

He was named an All-Star in every season he played in a Magic uniform and won the Rookie of the Year award during his first season.

O’Neal’s jerseys from his time with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat have also been retired due to his dominance during those stints.

Anderson, who O’Neal said he thought would be the Magic’s first player to have his jersey retired, was the franchise’s very first draft pick when they became an expansion team in 1989.

The No. 11 pick in the 1989 NBA Draft played 10 seasons for the Magic and averaged 15.4 points and 5.3 rebounds during his time in Orlando.