Shaquille O’Neal is a very loud person. And no, we are not referring to his voice. While that does have the bass of a small speaker, we are talking about how Shaq is bright. His 1000 Watt smile could light up any room. His big frame commands attention wherever you go.
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He wore clothing that would turn eyes instantly, and not in a bad way. O’Neal’s persona was on display from the very first moment, he stepped into the league. But when he made the move to Tinsel Town, he got louder, quite literally.
The talking point of his move to Los Angeles was not just his humongous contract, but also his 3700-watt stereo.
Shaquille O’Neal’s stereo system was rated at 3700 watts, it blew off rookie Kobe Bryant’s ears off
Shaquille O’Neal was already a star arriving in LA and here he would be taller and more prominent than the others, quite literally. To announce his arrival and to annoy the crowds, he decided to get a car that would punch a hole in people’s eardrums.
And much to the chagrin of others and to his delight, Shaq’s car did not feature a loud exhaust. No instead, it featured a thunderous 3700-watt stereo speaker system.
One that was obnoxiously loud and one that O’Neal loved to turn up whenever he reached Melrose. It was so bad that even rookie Kobe Bryant, used to complain about it, a lot.
“Can you believe how loud that stereo is?”, Kobe told Rick Rilley of Sports Illustrated. But despite all of that, Shaq was a godsend to the city of angels. His arrival and his ferocious display of strength in his first year in LA was something to behold.
Shaq’s first season in Los Angeles was nothing short of thunderous
Shaquille O’Neal’s first season with the Los Angeles Lakers was phenomenal. He was the next big thing in the center position since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
He teamed up with a young Kobe Bryant (rookie season) and led the Lakers to a 56-26 record. He immediately contributed to a 20-win improvement from the previous season. O’Neal dominated the paint, averaging 26.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game.
In the playoffs, the Lakers swept the Portland Trail Blazers, defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in five games, and made it to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Utah Jazz.
They may have lost then, but like a budding flower yet to bloom, they were only getting ready for the future.
This story was taken from the Sports Illustrated Archives in 1997.
