Shaquille O’Neal’s 2000s Starting 5 Discussion Led to Him ‘Baring His Soul’ to Ernie Johnson: “I’m Mad I Wasn’t on Dream Team, Mad They Started the Hack-a-Shaq”

Shaquille O’Neal played in the NBA for 19 seasons, during which time he established himself as the MDE(Most Dominant Ever). He has achieved a lot during his time in the NBA. Despite being a 4x Champion, 3x Finals MVP, 1x MVP, and more, Shaq feels like the NBA had robbed him at various points in his career. O’Neal talked about the same in 2015 when he was on Open Court with Ernie Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Reggie Miller, and others. In fact, Shaq bared his soul while naming his 2000s Starting 5.

It was the start of 2000s when Shaq was at the peak of his career. He led the Lakers to a three-peat and then went on to win another Championship with the Miami Heat. Shaq was clearly the best player in the world during his three-peat years. However, he only won one MVP, a fact that annoys him to date. Shaq discussed the same on Open Court and other things that bothered him.

Shaquille O’Neal got on ‘the couch’ and bared his soul to Ernie Johnson

During the episode of Open Court, the group was discussing their Starting 5 picks from each decade. Seeing how Shaq played in the 2000s, he was asked to start with the process. He picked himself as the big, Kobe Bryant as the SG, LeBron James as the SF, Tim Duncan as the PF, and then got stuck while picking his point guard. He was stuck choosing between Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, and more.

Seeing his dilemma, Ernie Johnson offered him a spot on ‘the couch’ to voice his deliberations. Shaq happily obliged. Once on the couch, the big man said,

“It was this little, good-looking, David Beckham-looking guy, running around, passing the ball, doing this and that. He scored every now and then, but would beat me out in the MVP voting. I’m averaging 28-15, without the free throws! Do you know I’m going to the Finals every year.”

When asked if he felt Steve Nash didn’t deserve the MVP award at all, Shaq replied,

“Maybe once, but not twice over Diesel. Twice, two times in a row. He got two, I got one, Kobe got one, something wrong with that picture. Whatever camera you’re using, throw that away.”

At this point, Johnson asked whether Shaq had anything else he wanted to get off his chest. O’Neal said,

“I’m mad I wasn’t on Dream Team. Mad they started the Hack-A-Shaq. I’m mad about Pat Riley used to practice me five hours a day. I’m mad Phil Jackson used to come in with something called Sage that smelled like weed to me. Mad Nick Harrison missed those 4 Free-Throws. It’s not about Nick, it’s about Kenny walking around thinking he’s a legend. I’m mad Kenny has a little Penny.”

After all of this, Shaq finally declared Allen Iverson as his point guard to finish his 2000s Starting 5. That was quite the ride to get the answer out.

Shaq’s overall starting five

Dr. J recently gave his Top-10 list, which led to Shaq doing the same as well. Instead of doing a standard Top-10, he divided his team into starters and bench players.

The starters were Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and himself. The bench has Stephen Curry, Allen Iverson, Isiah Thomas, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Sure, the team ran to 11, but it’s a solid bunch of people. Shaq sure knows how to make a list.