Shaquille O'Neal gave Laker fans plenty of exciting and championship lore memories throughout his 8-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

That includes: 3-straight titles, 3-consecutive NBA Finals MVP, 1 MVP, 12 NBA All-Star appearances, 1 NBA Scoring title, 5 NBA First Team, 1 NBA Second Team, 3 All-Defensive Second Team and of course, countless of quotable one-liners and nicknames.

And to help commemorate tonight's much-deserved jersey retirement for Shaq, RareInk has put together an impressive collection of original art and photo art for Laker fans and Shaq fans, as well.

Just click on any of the images above to view the entire gallery.

Congratulations Shaq!

The magic number for the Laker's hope for the playoffs is now down to 8.

Well, actually 5 and 12.

After basking in what used to be a solid 2-game lead over the Utah Jazz for the 8th and final seed in the west, the Lakers now see themselves back outside looking in.

The Jazz have won their last 4 games while the purple and gold, as we all have witnessed, gave up 4 of their last 6. That result in a similar record between these 2 teams. But the kicker is the Jazz hold the tie-breaker over the Lakers having taken the season series, 2-1. That puts the Lakers back in the 9th spot.

The Lakers (37-35) have not won the 2nd game of their back-to-back in 14 tries the entire season. They hope their fortunes turn tonight against the reeling Milwaukee Bucks (34-36).

Tonight's game is also a back-to-back for the Bucks after losing to the lowly 76ers on the road. But unlike the Lakers, Milwaukee have won 6 of their 11 2nd night of a 2-games-in-2-nights schedule. However, the Bucks are barely above .500 at home posting an 18-17 record. In fact, they have dropped 3 of their last 5 games at the BMO Harris Bradley Center and are currently riding a 4-game skid overall.

The Lakers snapped their 3-game losing streak against the Timberwolves last night, 120-117, allowing them to maintain their 1-game lead over Utah (who won last night) and 1-and-a half in front of Dallas for the 8th spot in the west. Another win tonight on the road will bode well for the Lakers in making sure they are the team holding that playoff ticket when the regular season ends for them on April 17.

Last night's loss to Philadelphia may have sparked something that could further drop the Bucks out of their playoff hunt. 

Not that it's really surprising this season, the Lakers had just lost Metta World Peace for the remainder of the regular season...and beyond.

In their team report posted on Wednesday, Metta will undergo surgery to fix the torn meniscus on his left knee on Thursday in Los Angeles by the team doctors. He's expected to return in at least 6 weeks.

MWP apparently injured his knee after slipping on some wet spot on the court against the Warriors on Monday. He complained of feeling some fluid in the back of his knee during halftime in the team's locker room to coach Mike D'Antoni, who then advised Metta to sit the rest of the game out.

From climbing higher up the playoff ladder to fighting to hold on to the 8th spot, the Lakers (36-35) have put themselves back into the "are they making the playoffs?" discussion.

After starting the month of March 7-2 and taking over the 8th seed from Utah, the purple and gold have lost their last 3 games catapulted by a lackluster performance in Phoenix a week ago. Kobe Bryant believes that his and Pau Gasol's return to the lineup has caused a shift in the team's offensive rhythm leading to a disastrous trip in Oakland on Monday against the Warriors.

But there's no sign of Kobe's injury hindering his game at all. In fact, he's back to being the team's main facilitator, and the Lakers look like they've adjusted back to that just fine. But Pau is a different story.

The Lakers are slipping...again.

And it's happening at the most inopportune time.

Prior to the game against Phoenix, the Lakers had only lost just 3 times since the All-Star break. More importantly, they took over the 8th and final spot of the playoffs from Utah and primed to finish the rest of the regular season strong—perhaps even catching Houston for the 7th seed.

Not anymore.

With the 3-game losing streak they're now riding, the Rockets have gained a 3-and-a-half game edge in front of the purple and gold. But climbing up the playoff ladder was merely an after-party for the Lakers.

The loss against Phoenix had plenty of cute excuses that were taken out of the box long before the game ended. The loss at Staples Center on Friday versus the Wizards, one of the most atrocious teams in the NBA, absolutely had no reason or rhyme why it happened — not even to a Lakers (36-34) team that embodies such an enigmatic personality.

After watching his team allow Washington eat up an 18-point lead enroute to a 103-100 frustration, Mike D'Antoni did not hold any punches aimed at his team and even called their team huddle go-cheer of 'championship' "laughable" during his post-game interview slash rant. The rollercoasting stamina in effort and focus has been a season-long theme for the Lakers, but there comes a time during the season when the team has to take it upon themselves to demand better of themselves if they are truly serious about winning that championship.

They can start tonight against one of the teams they're hoping to chasedown above them in the standings.

Good news, Lakers fans...

According to ESPN LA's Dave McMenamin's Twitter handle, Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni "expects" to see both Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol back in action Friday when the team hosts the Washington Wizards.

D'Antoni says he "expects" both Kobe and Pau in the lineup Friday vs. Washington

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 20, 2013

That's certainly something the team and their fans would love to see now that the Lakers are trying to keep themselves in playoff picture with only 13 games left in the regular season.

Bryant has missed the last 3 games after suffering a severe ankle sprain in a loss against the Hawks last Wednesday. Gasol had torn his plantar fascia in Brooklyn on Feb. 5 after challenging the shot of Net center Brook Lopez. Pau has missed the last 20 games.

The Lakers have gone 13-7 combined without their 2 stars.

For several weeks now, Steve Nash has been reiterating to the media that the Lakers (36-32) just need time together on the floor to develop that team chemistry to turn the season around. So far, he's right.

Since the All-Star break, the Lakers have won 11 of their last 14 games. And if you're counting since their team meeting in Memphis back in January, they're a cool 18-7.

But if there's a better proof to their improvement as a team, they have not lost a game since losing Kobe Bryant to a severe ankle sprain. The Lakers will look to continue that streak tonight against the Phoenix Suns (22-45) on the road.

The Lakers (34-32) head to Indiana to conclude their 3-game road trip possibly without Kobe Bryant in the lineup.

Bryant suffered his worst ankle sprain in 13 years on a very controversial play against the Hawks on Wednesday when Dahntay Jones clearly drove his right leg underneath Kobe, who was taking one of his usual fadeaway shot in an attempt to tie the game at 94 with 5 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Bryant was on the floor writhing in pain for several seconds before his teammates helped him up and walked gingerly towards the sideline.

It didn't look good for Kobe when the injury happened and certainly looked even worse when he twitted a picture of his injured ankle via Twitter. But according to LA Times' Mike Bresnahan, Kobe's availability for tonight's matchup with the Indiana Pacers (40-24) will be a game-time decision.