Shaquille O’Neal was considered a force of nature for the majority of his career, dominating the hardwood for nearly two decades. Being a bully in the post, Shaq would assert his command on both sides of the floor. The Big Aristotle’s run with the Los Angeles Lakers is what solidified his legacy. Leading the California side with Kobe Bryant, the All-Star duo took the franchise to 4 finals appearances in 5 seasons, which included a three-peat run between 2000-2002. In these three NBA Finals, the Diesel was unstoppable. However, despite recording astronomical numbers, Shaq failed to surpass Michael Jordan in an impressive list.
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Shaq and MJ are two of the game’s greatest ever. Apart from being a 5-time MVP and a 10-time scoring champ, Jordan reached the Finals six times and managed to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy in all of those instances. Whereas, Shaq was a 1-time MVP, 2-time scoring champ and won 4 Championships in his 6 Finals appearances.
Shaquille O’Neal averaged 3 PPG lesser than Jordan in the all-time Finals MVP list
As we near the end of the 2022-2023 postseason, several clips have been going viral on social media displaying the previous all-time best performances in the NBA Finals. One of the stats that has resurfaced on social media is the “most PPG[points per game] as a Finals MVP”. While the likes of Dwyane Wade, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Jerry West showed up on the prestigious list, Shaq and MJ had their names repeated thrice.
The video reveals that His Airness put up a staggering 41 PPG in the 1993 Finals to clinch the Bulls’ first three-peat. The 7-foot-1 big man was second on the list with the 38 PPG he put up in the 2000 Finals.
Recording merely 3 PPG less, the Superman paid his respect to Air Jordan as he humbly posted the reel on his Instagram story.
Shaq calls the NBA lucky because he never teamed up with Michael Jordan
Clearly, Shaq communicates most of his opinions through Instagram. A couple of weeks ago, the three-time Finals MVP posted a graphic on his story which called the NBA lucky for not witnessing Shaq and MJ teaming up.
The NBA’s most dominant center ever teaming up with the widely regarded GOAT of the league?! Other franchises are certainly lucky that they didn’t have to face the wrath of this deadly duo. If the two did share the same locker room, they would have many more championships on their respective resumes.
