Shaquille O’Neal has made amends with Kobe Bryant, and the four-time NBA MVP gushes about his former teammate as his illustrious career wraps up with the Kobe Appreciation Tour.

Bryant initially did not want a farewell tour, on which he would be honored in every opposing city and presented gifts, such as a piece of the original Boston Garden parquet floor by the Celtics. But he has embraced the adulation and will make his final All-Star appearance Sunday night.

O’Neal acknowledged this past week that he wanted a similar tour, and planned to have it in his final contract year with the Celtics, which would have been 2011-12. But a torn Achilles’ tendon prevented him from playing that year, and he decided to retire after 2010-11.

“I had another year after that and I only had to average 10 points because I wanted to pass up Wilt Chamberlain [on the all-time scoring list],’’ said O’Neal. “Because I wanted to boastfully say I was the most dominant big man ever, don’t ever hear his name again [in that conversation].

“I was going to play that year and then the summer and then set up the whole Shaq Tour. But it didn’t happen that way.’’

O’Neal damaged his Achilles’ during the 2010-11 season, missed two months, then returned on April 3 against the Pistons, when he injured the tendon again. He played a total of 12 minutes in the Celtics’ playoff series loss to the Miami Heat and was done.

“I always knew I was going to end my career with an injury,’’ O’Neal said. “I always knew it. I ripped [the tendon] in half. I said, ‘You know what? I’m not rehabbing, I’m not coming back. I’m done.’

“For me, it didn’t feel right averaging 27 [points] and then being a role player averaging 10. I just didn’t feel like the Shaq anymore.

“I wish I would have had a Shaq Tour because I know it would have been fun. I would have gotten a lot of gifts.’’

O’Neal said he told the Celtics immediately after discovering the damage to his tendon that he was not going to play the next season. What’s more, he said, he urged president of basketball operations Danny Ainge not to make the controversial Kendrick Perkins-for-Jeff Green trade with Oklahoma City in February 2011. With Perkins gone and Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal hurt, the Celtics were relegated to using Nenad Krstic at center.

“I’m all about business,’’ said O’Neal. “They were paying me $1 million and I said, ‘Use that money for something else.’ Because I’m not going to take your money. I’m not that type of guy. And again, I didn’t feel good about . . . setting picks for Paul [Pierce] and scoring 6 and 8 points. That’s not right.

“I got hurt and I called Doc [Rivers] and said, ‘I’m done, bruh. I’m not rehabbing, I’m not coming back. I’m done.’?’’

Meanwhile, the NBA is considering adjusting the rules so teams can’t commit intentional fouls against a poor free throw shooter — i.e. Hack-a-Shaq — but O’Neal said he doesn’t believe poor free throw shooters should receive any advantages.

“For me, it had nothing to do with free throws, but you can add free throws in it,’’ he said. “For me, it was you can’t stop him. He’s shooting 70 percent from the field. He makes it through double teams, through triple teams, and he’s shooting 50 from the free throw line.

“I am not going to miss them all. I may miss four or five in a row but I ain’t going to miss them all.

“I took it as a sign of respect. A lot of guys use it as strategy and I always say, as a coach, if you have to use strategy to win rather than have your guys go out a la Golden State and just flat-out beat you, you’re never going to win anyway.

“It works sometimes, but I don’t think it worked when they wanted it to work. I don’t think you should change the rule. Because with the rule changes they have now, I would have averaged 60.’’

GOING STRONG

Approaching 30, Rondo still sharp

In the middle of a bounce-back year, Rajon Rondo is pondering his future. He will turn 30 this month, which seems inconceivable considering most Celtics fans still think of him as the sidekick guard on the 2008 title team.

Following major knee surgery, he has spent the past few years trying to regain his prowess, and the numbers show that he has. He is averaging a career-high 11.9 assists with the Sacramento Kings.

Rondo understands that he is no longer considered in the elite group of point guards but feels he can return to that level.

“I don’t think I was playing bad last season,’’ he said. “I’m playing a lot better this year just because probably the coaching staff, our style of play is very open court. I get out in transition and I make a lot of the plays. Coach has allowed me to do what I do best.’’

Rondo said he doesn’t feel the effects of aging or playing 10 years and 624 games.

“I’m still that young guy,’’ he said. “I think people consider me old or older because I had early success at 21 years old. It’s crazy; that’s how I used to look at Tony Parker. He won early in his career and I thought Tony was, like, 34, 36. But he was 29, 30.

“Thirty is not an old age as an NBA player. I feel great. It’s my first year having a training camp under my belt. I haven’t had one in three years.

“I lift every day, do yoga every other day, and I still feel like I’m 22.’’

Rondo said he has no hard feelings for the Celtics, who traded him to Dallas in December 2014, and he keeps in touch with many of his former teammates, continuing to be a mentor. That’s a role he learned from Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen.

“I sent Avery [Bradley] a text,’’ said Rondo. “That was a big shot he made the other day [to beat Cleveland]. My young guys, Kelly [Olynyk], Jared [Sullinger], a lot of these guys are my rookies. It’s good to see these guys playing well. Wish health and happiness.’’

What angered some fans about Rondo is that he admitted shortly after leaving Boston that he didn’t play defense for the final two years here, placing the onus on Bradley.

“I know what he brings,’’ said Rondo. “He guarded me in practice and I tried to get my rest [the night before]. Avery is probably the best on-ball defender in the league and has been for a long time.’’

OF PISTONS PAST

Reflective Billups takes a look back

Chauncey Billups was the latest to have his number retired by the Pistons, honored during halftime of Wednesday’s loss to Denver. Billups was part of one of the more surprising NBA champions in recent history, when he and his bunch of workhorses outplayed the heavily favored Lakers in 2004.

That Pistons team had a chance to repeat in 2005 but lost Game 7 of the Finals to the Spurs. Three primary contributors to that San Antonio title team — Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker — remain viable with the Spurs 10 years later.

“I think they’ve just done a brilliant job of not only keeping those guys at a high level, but just filling other pieces around,’’ Billups said. “I really felt like with our Detroit teams that we were in a position to do the same thing.

“I wasn’t an aging veteran at the time, but I was getting older, and so was Rasheed [Wallace] and Max [Jason Maxiell]. You go and draft [Arron] Afflalo, who was right there in position, and [Rodney] Stuckey. You go in and start getting these other pieces that are not ready now, but you let your veterans teach them and mentor them and show them the way, then they become guys that are able to take over.’’

After losing in three consecutive Eastern Conference finals, the Pistons broke up their core, trading key players or allowing them to leave via free agency. Billups said they could have kept their younger players around to eventually become standouts, as the Spurs did.

“When you look at San Antonio, that’s what they’ve done and that’s what they continue to do,’’ he said. “What they did this summer, getting LaMarcus Aldridge, it just reminds me of getting Tim Duncan.

“LaMarcus Aldridge was one of the top two, three, four men in the league. You’ve got him coming to the Spurs . . . there is no if and when it’s going to happen. He has to at some point do it the Spurs’ way.

“There is a culture there and they’ve set a standard there, and they have the best coach in basketball who is going to make sure that happens. I mean, it’s beautiful to me what they’ve been able to do.

“I always said losing Game 7 in the Finals to them was the darkest day of my career. It was really, really tough. And I always said I had this respectful hate for the Spurs because they’re so damn good.’’

If you recall, Billups had a central role with the Celtics franchise in the late 1990s, although he played just 51 games in Boston. The organization, led by coach and president Rick Pitino, banked on getting the No. 1 pick in the 1997 draft and taking Duncan.

Instead, they lost out on the lottery and ended up with the third pick, taking Billups. Pitino had little patience with the combo guard and traded him to Toronto during his rookie season. Pitino has said it’s one of his biggest regrets in his tenure with the Celtics.

Billups bounced around (Toronto, Denver, Minnesota) before signing as a free agent with Detroit in 2002. He spent six years with the Pistons in his first stint with the team, becoming the unquestioned leader of the surging franchise.

“For one, the guys respected me,’’ he said. “They trusted me. They trusted whatever decision I felt was right at the time was the right decision, whether it was their number or somebody else’s number that I had to call at the time, at that time of the game.

“That wasn’t easy to come by. That takes a while to get guys to trust you, and there is some blunder involved in that too. You make the wrong calls sometimes and that happens. But when I did that, I would immediately raise my hand, my bad. I’ve got you next time. Boom.

“It’s a mutual thing. It’s a mutual respect. And that All-Star Game [in 2006], when all four of us made it, the one thing that we all knew was we only made it because we were winning.’’

The Pistons laid the groundwork for success without a superstar. Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace were all skilled and passionate, but none were considered franchise players.

“None of us had crazy numbers,’’ said Billups. “Nobody averaged 25 points. Nobody was blowing the league away.

“It was a collective collaboration that we believed in. We understand why we were there and because of that, again, there was no extra added ego to it.

“I wasn’t there because I averaged 26 and 12 and I was on the highlights on ‘SportsCenter’ every night. I was there because I led the heck out of that team, and when the game was on the line, I would, or made sure the ball was in the hand to make the plays to win the game.’’

ETC.

Karl and Kings have work to do

Just because the Kings decided to save George Karl’s job this season doesn’t mean he’s safe for next season. The coach received a reprieve when general manager Vlade Divac announced he would work with Karl on improving the league’s worst scoring defense. Karl has never been a defensive-minded coach, not even in Seattle, where Gary Payton was a one-man machine in stopping opposing point guards. The Kings don’t emphasize defense in practice and players aren’t penalized for defensive mistakes. They allowed 376 points in a recent three-game stretch. Karl said he is not considering retiring, but Sacramento management may have to make a move to create some enthusiasm for a team that continues to disappoint.

Hickson on rocky road in Denver

On the trade block is Denver power forward J.J. Hickson, who has fallen out of coach Mike Malone’s rotation and expects his expiring contract to be moved. Hickson once was considered an understudy to LeBron James in Cleveland, but the Cavaliers traded him to get Omri Casspi, and Hickson never emerged as a standout player. He’s still only 27 and has the ability to score and rebound, but defense and consistency are his issues.

Layups

It’s seems the Magic are looking for a shakeup after a disappointing two months, and they want to add an established veteran, even if that means parting with one of their younger core. Untouchable are point guard Elfrid Payton and big man Nikola Vucevic, but the Magic may have to part with Tobias Harris, whose numbers have dropped dramatically since he signed a four-year, $64 million extension last summer. Orlando has to figure out of whether Victor Oladipo is the answer at shooting guard, because he’s shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from the 3-point line. The Magic were hoping the acquisition of C.J. Watson and Jason Smith would boost an emerging team, but they are currently out of the playoff race and need a second-half run . . . Look for the NBA to consider jumping on the back of a player during a free throw attempt to be a flagrant foul. Teams have resorted to piggybacking an opponent to force him into shooting free throws — a means for putting poor shooters on the line — but it is likely to addressed.

Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.