Jermaine O'Neal life and biography

Jermaine O'Neal is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics. The 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), 255 lb (115 kg) forward-center had a successful high school career and declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA Draft straight out of high school.

Career history:

1996–2000 Portland Trail Blazers
2000–2008 Indiana Pacers
2008–2009 Toronto Raptors
2009–2010 Miami Heat
2010–present Boston Celtics

CAREER:

2009-10:
Started all 70 games in which he appeared for the HEAT and averaged 13.6 points (.529 FG%, .720 FT%), 6.9 rebounds, 1.36 blocks, 1.3 assists and 28.4 minutes...missed ten games due to injury and two games (Dec. 6-11) for personal reasons...sat out Miami’s Nov. 14 game against New Jersey due to a left hip contusion...missed the Jan. 4 game against Atlanta due to a strained right groin...sat out the Feb. 1 game against Milwaukee due to back spasms...sat out the Mar. 20 game against Charlotte and the final two games of the season (Apr. 12-14) due to a sprained left ankle...missed four games from Mar. 28-Apr. 3 due to a hyperextended right knee...his 70 games played were his highest single-season total since playing 78 games in the 2003-04 season...ranked among the NBA leaders in field goal percentage (14th), blocks per game (19th), rebounds per game (35th) and defensive rebounds (50th 362)...led the HEAT and recorded a single-season career high in field goal percentage...also topped the HEAT in charges drawn (22)...ranked second on the team in offensive rebounds (124), total blocks (95), blocks per game and dunks (68) and finished third in points (950), scoring average, field goals made (394) and attempted (745), free throws made (162) and attempted (225), defensive rebounds (362) and total rebounds (486)...led the team in scoring five times and also in blocks 30 times, in rebounds on 18 occasions, in minutes in seven games and in steals three times...scored in double figures 54 times, including nine games with at least 20 points...scored in double figures in a season-high 12 consecutive games from Jan. 22-Feb. 16...grabbed double-figure rebounds on 14 occasions, including a season-high three consecutive games from Nov. 25-29...posted 14 double-doubles...had one 20-point, 15-rebound game, tallying 24 points and a season-high 16 rebounds at Chicago on Feb. 6...had at least one block in a season-high 10 consecutive games from Feb. 6-28...hit a season-high 14 consecutive free throws from Jan. 8-22...had 11 double figure scoring quarters and one 20-point half... scored his 12,000th career point against Minnesota on Feb. 23...had 32 multi-block and two multi-steal games...Season Highs: 25 points (twice), 16 rebounds (twice), five assists (at Chicago, Feb. 6), five blocks (vs. Orlando, Mar. 18), two steals (twice) and 41:07 minutes (vs. L.A. Lakers, Mar. 4)...PLAYOFFS: Averaged 4.2 points and 5.6 rebounds to go along with 2.0 blocks in 23.4 minutes per game during Miami’s first round series against Boston

2008-09:
Split the season between the Toronto Raptors and HEAT and averaged 13.3 points (.474 FG%, career-high .788 FT%), 6.4 rebounds, 2.00 blocks, 1.8 assists, 0.43 steals and 29.8 minutes in 68 games (61 starts)...missed 17 games due to injury...sat out three games from Nov. 26-30 with a sprained left ankle...was sidelined for nine games from Dec. 31-Jan. 14 with a right knee contusion...sat out a pair of games from Jan. 18-19 with a sore right knee...did not play in Miami’s Mar. 23 game against Memphis due to a right hip contusion...missed the final two games of the season (Apr. 14-15) due to a left calf strain...finished fifth in the NBA in blocks per game...his .474 field goal percentage was his highest since the 2002-03 season (.484)...scored in double figures on 47 occasions, including 11 games with at least 20 points and one 30-point performance...grabbed double-figure rebounds 10 times and posted eight double-doubles...appeared in 41 games with the Raptors (34 starts) and averaged 13.5 points (.473 FG%, .810 FT%), 7.0 rebounds, 2.00 blocks, 1.6 assists, 0.44 steals and 29.7 minutes...recorded a pair of double-doubles in his two games against the HEAT with a season-high 18 rebounds at Miami on Nov. 16 and 17 against Miami in Toronto on Nov. 19...started all 27 games in which he appeared for the HEAT and averaged 13.0 points (.475 FG%, .750 FT%), 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.00 blocks, 0.41 steals and 30.0 minutes...led the HEAT in scoring once and also topped the team in blocks 20 times, in rebounds on five occasions and in steals twice...ranked second on the HEAT in charges drawn (18)...had at least one blocked shot in a season-high 26 games from Feb. 4-Mar. 30...scored his 11,000th career point against Detroit on Feb. 24...recorded his 1,500th career block against Chicago on Mar. 9...grabbed his 6,000th career rebound against New Orleans on Apr. 7...tied his career high with nine offensive rebounds against Philadelphia on Nov. 12...had 50 dunks (25 each with Miami and Toronto)...had 10 double-figure scoring quarters (all with Toronto)...had 37 multi-block and seven multi-steal games...Season Highs: 36 points (at Sacramento, Dec. 26), 18 rebounds (vs. Miami, Nov. 16), nine blocks (vs. L.A. Lakers, Feb. 4), six assists (at Boston, Mar. 18), three steals (at Sacramento, Dec. 26) and 48:25 minutes (vs. Utah, Mar. 14)...PLAYOFFS: Started five of the six games in which he appeared for the HEAT in its Opening Round series against Atlanta and averaged 13.3 points (.549 FG%, .750 FT%), 4.5 rebounds, 1.50 blocks, 1.5 assists, 0.50 steals and 27.0 minutes...suffered a concussion in Game 5 at Atlanta on Apr. 29 which caused him to miss Game 6 on May 1 and limited him to just 42 seconds in Game 7 on May 3...led the HEAT in field goal percentage and ranked second in free throws made (24) and attempted (32), blocks and scoring average...topped the HEAT in blocks twice...scored in double figures four times, including a pair of 20-point efforts...grabbed double-figure rebounds once and posted one double-double...scored his 1,000th postseason career point in Game 5 on Apr. 29...had started 55 consecutive postseason games before coming off the bench in Game 7 at Atlanta on May 3

COLLEGE:

In four years at Eau Claire, posted a 97-16 record and won three state AAA titles and came in second once...scored 1,372 points and grabbed 833 during his prep career...set school records for blocks in a game (16), season (170) and career (397)...named to USA Today’s 1996 All-USA Basketball Team as a senior...was also named Mr. Basketball and first-team All-State by the Associated Press as a senior...averaged 22.4 points, 12.6 rebounds and 5.2 blocks his senior year while shooting 68.2 percent from the floor...as a junior he averaged 18.2 points, 12.8 rebounds and 7.1 blocks...in 1996, he helped the U.S. 20-and-under team win the World Championship Tournament in Germany.


Career highlights and awards:

NBA Most Improved Player (2002)
6× NBA All-Star (2002–2007)
All-NBA Second Team (2004)
2× All-NBA Third Team (2002–2003)

PERSONAL:

Full name is Jermaine L. O’Neal...answers to the nicknames, "J.O." (his initials) and "Six" (given to him because of his football background)...is the son of Angela Jones...he and his wife, Mesha O’Neal, have a son (Jermaine O’Neal, Jr.) and a daughter (Asjia O’Neal)...considers his two children to be his most prized possessions...has a brother (Clifford O’Neal)...established the Jermaine O’Neal Foundation in 2003 in order to improve the quality of life for children who need it most...was drafted by the NBA right out of high school...resides in Las Vegas in the off-season...away from the court he enjoys spending time with his family...would like to continue to be a successful businessman when his career is over...his favorite sport other than basketball is football and his favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys...lists Martin and First 48 has his favorite television shows...his favorite food is chicken...says the best place he’s visited is Atlantis in the Bahamas because it is where he married his wife...his pre-game ritual involves eating, taking a nap and getting dressed at the same time before each game...has several tattoos and his favorite is an image of praying hands with the words "For the love of God" .

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