Shaquille O’Neal never hesitates to call himself the most dominant player, with his NBA resume backing all his claims.
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One of the most dominating players to ever step on the NBA hardwood, Shaquille O’Neal was a terror in the paint. A generational athlete, Shaq had a seven-foot frame with cat-like reflexes. The Diesel instilled a fear in the mind of his opponents with his mere presence.
The former seven-foot center was a terror in the paint and a nightmare for the rims, even breaking backboards every once in a while. At the mere age of 13-years, Shaq stood at 6″6′ tall, undoubtedly the strongest kid in his class, blessed with incredible genetics.
Shaq found most of his success playing for the purple and gold, where he won 3-titles and was the Finals MVP each time. Giving him company was none other than the late Kobe Bryant. This iconic Lakers duo of Shaq-Kobe would go on to 3-peat from 2000-02.
Nonetheless, the 2000-01 season stood out for the Lakers, considering their 15-1 run in the playoffs, as Shaq was at the pinnacle of his career.
Shaquille O’Neal addresses losing Game One against the Sixers in the 2001 Finals.
In his first stint with free agency, Shaq decided to don the purple and gold in 1996. The former Magic center was in the best phase of his career, teaming up with a rookie Kobe. While it took its course of time for Shaq-Kobe to win on the big stage but when they did, they did it with complete dominance.
Post winning their first chip in 2000, the Lakers had the manual required to get to the Promise Land at the back of their heads. The 2001 playoffs saw Shaq-Kobe sweep the likes of Scottie Pippen, Chris Webber, Tim Duncan, and David Robinson with a 15-0 run before colliding with Allen Iverson.
The Lakers faced the Sixers in the 2001 Finals, with AI coming off an MVP season. While the Lakers were the overwhelming favorites to win, The Answer wasn’t going down without a fight putting up a historic Game One performance in the only win the Philly team had in the Finals.
Nonetheless, not getting the perfect 16-0 streak continues to haunt Shaq, who had the following to say post-winning Game Four of the 2001 Finals.
“I haven’t been stopped since age 5.”
“We still haven’t put together a great game like we did in the first three series, but we’re doing enough to win. And that’s what it’s all about-winning,” O’Neal said. “In a perfect world we’d be talking about winning the whole thing right now, but we let Game 1 slip away.”
Well, it was this competitive zeal that ignited the Diesel and the Mamba, making them one of the legendary duos in NBA history
