LOS ANGELES -- Shaquille O'Neal and longtime girlfriend Shaunie Nelson were said to have wed Thursday night in a ceremony shrouded in secrecy.

	Shaquille O'Neal and Shaunie Nelson during a Lakers' victory celebration after another world title.

Those present said the couple exchanged vows in front of friends and teammates at The Beverly Hills Hotel, where plainclothes security guards began chasing out reporters and photographers during the afternoon. A television news helicopter managed to capture film of O'Neal standing with his bride as they prepared to take their vows.

"The wedding was absolutely beautiful,'' O'Neal's uncle Michael Parris told the Daily News of Los Angeles. "It was a very traditional wedding. It was a very intimate gathering.''

Teammates and other members of the Lakers' family were impressed as well.

''This is a great event for Shaq, I'm really happy for him and his wife and it was a lovely event, so I'm glad I got to attend it,'' rookie teammate Kareem Rush told KCAL-TV.

''It was fabulous. It was true to Shaquille's class and grace,'' gushed Cheryl Cleamons, wife of Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons.

O'Neal had declined to discuss his wedding plans after practice Thursday, and his teammates wouldn't say much more.

''We know, and it's only for us,'' said Lakers forward Mark Madsen as he left the team's practice facility in nearby El Segundo.

''Since we didn't find out until the last minute what was going on, I didn't know it was black tie,'' said Lakers guard Brian Shaw.

Nelson and the 30-year-old O'Neal have two children together and two from prior relationships. They are expecting a boy in May.

The three-time defending NBA champion Lakers don't play again until Saturday night at Denver.