"We did it," he said in the video. "Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much, that's why I'm telling you first: I'm about to retire. Love you, talk to you soon."
The mutual affection between O'Neal and his fans will serve him well in his post-playing career as will the lack any controversy which could have driven endorsers away.
Many sponsors will, no doubt, lose interest in a non-playing star but O'Neal's four rap albums, and numerous film appearances have ensured that his fame has now transcended the basketball floor.
And though, O'Neal has long supplemented his basketball career with showbiz activities, there has been more evidence than ever that the American has been looking ahead.
He played 37 games for Boston in the regular season but performed numerous PR stunts such as dressing up as 'Shaq-A-Claus' to hand out presents to underprivileged kids and appearing in drag at Halloween.
Boston seemed prepared to accept that O'Neal would be dividing his time between his careers as celebrity and player and the franchise suffered little financially as he joined on a veteran's minimum. It was deal O'Neal was prepared to accept over more lucrative offers from the likes of Atlanta and Detroit for one simple reason.
"I could have gotten $8 million from Atlanta and Detroit, but it wasn't about that. It was about being somewhere and being seen and winning," he said.
Four NBA titles, three Finals MVPs, 28,596 points but the most significant number for O'Neal is most likely the 3,855,945 following him on Twitter.
To follow the NBA in the UK, with all the latest news and photos, visit www.facebook.com/nbauk
