Shaquille O’Neal is throwing in the towel. After 19 years as a hoopster on various teams with the NBA — the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers, and most recently the Boston Celtics — the larger-than-life NBA star announced his retirement from pro ball on Wednesday.

Via a TwitVid no less.

Reality star Nikki “Hoopz” Alexander has become a real-life sleep saver for Boston Celtics star Shaquille O’Neal.

The Odd Couple recently teamed up with Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine after Hoopz convinced the hoopster to get checked out for sleep apnea.

“It happens when he’s on his back. He gets into this deep snore and then goes like this…” she says, imitating his snore. “It’s like he stops; his chest will stop moving and everything. It’s like he stops breathing.”

According to The Boston Herald: “Sleep apnea is a common problem defined by pauses in breathing while someone sleeps. The most common kind is obstructive sleep apnea, where the airway collapses or gets blocked throughout the night. If left untreated, it can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and diabetes. It can also make a person chronically tired from, well, lack of deep sleep. Sleep apnea is often — but not always — accompanied by snoring and is far more common in those who are overweight and/or have thick neck circumferences. Shaq, at 7’1″ tall, purportedly weighs 325 pounds, making him one of the heaviest players in the NBA…”

Are womanizing NBA star Shaquille O’Neal and reality star Nicole “Hoopz” Alexandar headed toward wedded bliss?

Unconfirmed online reports claim the Boston Celtics center popped the question to Alexander at the Sahara Mediterranean Cuisine and Hookah Lounge in St. Louis Monday night. According to The St. Louis Post Dispatch, Shaq got down on one knee and put a ring on it. O’Neal and Alexander reportedly own a home together in Maryville, Tennessee.

The marriage will be Shaq’s second. The NBA veteran’s 7-year marriage to Shaunie O’Neal ended earlier this year. The former couple share four children.

Hoopz, as you may recall, competed for and won the heart of Flava Flav on the rapper’s reality show Flavor of Love. She also competed on the reality show I Love Money and won the $250,000 prize.

Most sports fans thought that Kobe and Shaq ended their long-standing feud after sharing the court in the NBA All-Star game for the Western Conference. But Kobe seems to be living up to his name and keeping beef alive!

A lawyer for Shaquille O’Neal has slapped VH1 with a cease and desist order demanding the network halt production on “any further episodes of Basketball Wives which make any reference to Mr. O’Neal.”

This new series showcases the inside lives of the ladies who are with/have been with some of the biggest hoopsters in the game. Shaq, however, is not amused.

Somebody sounds salty.

The NBA star’s ex-wife Shaunie O’Neal is an executive producer and one of the women featured on the new reality hit, which premiered on Sunday.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, Shaq’s lawyer claims Shaunie signed a confidentiality agreement early in the former couple’s relationship — so anything said about Shaq on TV will be considered a violation of that agreement and the show will be sued.

A rep for VH1 had no comment.

The rest of The Basketball Wives roster includes: NBA dancer Royce; Jennifer Williams (wife of Eric Williams); Suzie Ketcham (ex-wife of Michael Olowokondi); Evelyn Lozada (ex-fiance of Antoine Walker); and Gloria Govan (engaged to Matt Barnes).

“These ladies live the life. They drive the best cars, live in the biggest mansions, wear designer clothes and jewelry and only travel first class. But living the high life is not all glamour. In order to protect it, they have to deal with the jealousies and dramas of living in — and staying in — the inner circle. Viewers will watch as these women juggle between stress and success while raising their children, building their businesses, fending off groupies and finding stability in an unstable atmosphere.”

According to this KTLA report, Vanessa — who is represented by celebrity legal eagle Gloria Allred — claims she and Shaq began having an affair five years ago. Everything was fine until four months ago, when the Mexican vamp told the married dad that she may be pregnant. In Shaq’s defense, Vanessa has a history of bedding hoopsters. In 2007, she accused Orlando Magic star JJ Redick of harassment. In 2006, Delonte West called the police on Vanessa after she refused to leave his Orlando hotel room.

Here’s a reason for a divorce: NBA star Shaquille O’Neal reportedly had a five year affair with model Vanessa Lopez and began harassing her after a preganncy scare.

Vanessa has hired celebrityattorney Gloria Allred to represent her in a harassment case against Shaq, according to RadarOnline.com.

“It went to the extremes of the police getting involved and a report being filed,” the insider said.

Shaunie, Shaq’s estranged wife, has filed for legal separation with intent to divorce.

“Tiger’s my guy,” Shaq said Tuesday. “I’m not going to be like everybody else and say off-the-wall comments. I just hope he’s OK.” For the better part of a week, Tiger has been embattled by claims that he cheated on his wife, former Swedish model Elin Nordegren, with a series of one; including NYC nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel and former VH1 reality star Jaimee Grubbs (of Tool Academy fame). The Florida Highway Patrol said Tuesday that the PGA champ will get a careless driving citation for the one-car crash near his home, and that will close the investigation.

“The problem going on is when you have people disguising as media putting out reports, and then people believing what they read,” says Shaq, who like Tiger, owns a home in Orlando’s tony Isleworth community. “We don’t know what’s fact, we don’t know what’s true. We just hope he’s OK.”

Shaquille, as you may have heard “allegedly” cheated on his estranged wife Shaunie with the pregnant fiancee of fellow NBA star Gilbert Arenas.

Authorities believe Shaniya was kidnapped, raped, and murdered after being reported missing Nov. 10. Her body was found six days later on a roadside about 30 miles from her hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Her funeral was Sunday.

In a statement released by his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Thanksgiving Thursday, the famed hoopster — a dad himself — said he was touched after hearing the little girl’s story on The Nancy Grace Show.

“What happened to her was tragic. I wanted her to have a funeral that would be as beautiful as she was,” O’Neal said in the statement.

A&E still considering whether to purchase Love Shaq, a show filmed before last week’s turn of events.

Shaunie, born Va’shaundya, filed for legal separation from the Cleveland Cavaliers player in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Nov. 9, citing irreconcilable differences. In addition to asking for an unspecified amount in spousal and child support, Shaunie is seeking sole custody of the couple’s four children, ranging in age from 3 to 9.