NBA: Shaq goes back to No. 33
By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
CLEVELAND — Shaquille O’Neal hasn’t picked out a house in Cleveland yet. He has chosen a jersey number — his old one.
Shaq is going back to No. 33.
Traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, the 15-time All-Star has decided to wear 33, the team confirmed Friday. That’s the number O’Neal wore in high school and at LSU before turning pro. O’Neal wore No. 32 when he was in Orlando, Miami and Phoenix.
When he was with the Los Angeles Lakers, O’Neal wore 34 because Nos. 32 and 33 were retired for Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
A frequent user of Twitter, the social networking site, the 37-year-old O’Neal posted a message late Thursday night saying he planned to play longer than the one year he has left under contract.
“My numbers are not good enough to retire 3 more yrs left,” he tweeted.