Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own blog, Hoops Haven .
Not too long ago, fans in Eastern Conference NBA hardwood arenas witnessed a dominating big man with the last name of O’Neal, patrolling the paint that used to give opposing players and coaches nightmares with them thinking of how to defend the 6 time All-Star. No……….I’m not talking about the former Shaq “Diesel“O’Neal, who used to play for the Orlando Magic in the mid 90′, but Jermaine O’Neal, the former high school prep to pro shot blocker who, when finally given playing time, led the Indiana Pacers all the way to the Eastern Finals in 2004.
It’s hard to believe but just two seasons ago in ’07, O’Neal played in his 6th straight All Star Game before two shaky knees have potentially derailed a once elite level career. When the rebuilding Pacers sent their once promising franchise player and his monstrous contract(2 years at $44 million at the time) North of the border to the Toronto Raptors, in the ’08 offseason, most of us lost track of the former 3 time All NBA Team Selection. In Canada, injuries plagued O’Neal, seeing him score 20 points only 3 times over the first 25 games and missing almost a quarter of the Raptors games as emerging 7 foot star in his own right, Andrea Bargnani, took full advantage of Jermaine’s frontcourt minutes. With Toronto in need of another wing player, he was sent to in a 4 player trade to Miami for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. O’Neal was only a shell of his former self for the Heat, averaging 13 ppg, 5.4 rebs, and 2 blocks in helping the Heat earn the 5th seed in last season’s playoffs. On balky knees, his rebounding totals were his worst since ’99-’00 when he was a reserve playing only 12 minutes per game in Portland.
There’s no doubting that Jermaine was once a top 5 NBA center during his time in Indiana(’01-’08) when he averaged 20.6 ppg, 9.9 rebs, and 2.4 blocks, made the Pacers annual Eastern Conference contenders, and leading his squad to the postseason for six straight years upon arrival in Indianapolis. Jermaine was part of a talented core of players which included Reggie Miller and Ron Artest. He regularly upped his game in the playoffs even averaging an astounding 23 points, 17.5 rebounds, and 3 blocks in the ’03 postseason. USA Basketball took notice and selected him to represent his country and play for the US National Team in the ’01 Goodwill games, ’02 World Championships, ’03 Tournament of the Americas, and even the ’04 Olympics, although he couldn’t participate because of injuries. He earned All NBA 2nd and 3rd Team Selections from ’02-’04, won the Most Improved Player Award in ’02, and holds 5 Pacers franchise records including most blocks in a game(10) and most rebounds in a playoff game(22).
The turning point appeared to be when he was suspended for 25 games for being a primary participant in the infamous Pacers/Pistons brawl during the ’05 season. Although his suspension was reduced to only 10 games, he suffered through a series of ongoing knee and shoulder injuries that seemed to ultimately derail his career. Although he had two more good seasons after the ’05 season, he lacked explosiveness especially on defense where he was considered one of the game’s best. Even though he was in his mid to late 20’s during this time, he never played in more than 69 games in a season or averaged 10+ rebounds after the incident.
Fast forward to today and Jermaine O’Neal has put his body through a 15 week grueling training regiment to bring back the 14 year veteran’s career back from essentially basketball death. For the past 3+ seasons he has endured the pain of swollen knees that at times grew to the size of grapefruits. The hard work appears to have paid off as O’Neal has just gotten through the Miami Heat training camp without the usual bulky knee braces that have been as customary as his trademark headbands in recent years. Also gone is the portable ice machine that he was forced to carry with him everywhere. He has given himself an ultimatum with his motto for this upcoming season as “All or Nothing.” Even though he is still only 31 years old, Jermaine is at peace with himself if he fails to regain his place as a dominant big man this season, since he has a wife and two beautiful children he can retire to in the final year in which he will earn more than $21 million dollars.
Check out the video “Timeline” which show O’Neal’s career highlights:
