"The plan all along was that Boston would be Shaquille O'Neal's last stop. He said he had a 730-day plan.

This is where he could chase down one last championship ring, the place where he'd take his victory lap after 19 years in the NBA.

It would also be the first stop on his post-career public relations campaign. He would not only be one of the biggest stars in sport, he would be the most accessible, whether he was in Harvard Square posing as a statue, or at Symphony Hall in a tuxedo and bow tie conducting the Boston Pops."