On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team signed Hall of Fame big man Shaquille "Shaq" Rashaun O'Neal to the final stint of his storied career. The Newark, New Jersey native was enticed by the principal owner of the Celtics, Wyc Grousbeck, who used O'Neal's rivalry with Kobe Bryant over the number of banners each had won to convince him to sign with Boston.
After securing head coach Doc Rivers' approval on an assurance there would be no locker room subterfuge as had followed Shaq in the past. O'Neal signed a two-year minimum deal worth $2.