A 38-year-old Shaquille O’Neal had joined the Boston Celtics in the 2010-11 season with the hopes of taking the team to a championship. At the time, he felt like they were the best team in the NBA, only to be knocked out by LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Advertisement
Approaching the end of his illustrated career, Shaq was looking to add more rings to his tally, which stood at four. To achieve this, he signed with the Boston Celtics team who were coming off an NBA Finals loss against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 2010-11 Boston Celtics roster comprised the 2008 championship-winning quartet of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and Ray Allen. Despite Shaq not being the same player he once was, adding him to the team gave them more depth and a veteran presence with championship caliber.
Shaquille O’Neal did not expect to lose to LeBron James’ Miami Heat
In 2010, LeBron James teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. A trio that would go on to win multiple championships was playing in their first-ever playoff series. However, the team showed no lack of experience and ousted the Celtics in five games.
After failing to take Cleveland Cavaliers to a championship, LeBron parted ways with the franchise in a quest to earn his first ring. He was unstoppable in the semi-final series and averaged an impressive 28 PPG. Miami Heat reached the NBA Finals in 2011, where they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. Shaq mentioned James’ performance in his book ‘Shaq Uncut: My Story‘ and wrote:
“Miami went on to beat us in that series. LeBron was a beast. I’ve never seen him play like that before. He sure as hell didn’t play like that against Dallas in the Finals.”
In the same book, the former Lakers legend further gives the fans an insight into his personal and professional life. He talks about his time with the Boston Celtics and the expectations leading up to the 2010-11 NBA season. Here is an excerpt from the book:
“I’m just really upset and disappointed because I believe this was the Celtics’ year. This was the first time in my nineteen-year history that all the powerhouses were gone. They brought me in to bang Dwight Howard, and he was gone. They wanted me to rebound against the Lakers. They were gone, too. I thought it would be us and the Spurs, me and Tim Duncan, two guys with four rings going at it—but they were gone, too.”
O’Neal incorrectly predicted the 2011 playoffs’ outcome
The Celtics finished the regular season strong and ended with the third seed in the Eastern Conference. With a dominant start to the playoffs, Boston swept the New York Knicks in the first round to set up a semi-finals matchup with the Miami Heat.
The 2011 first-round playoff series saw the elimination of Dwight Howard-led Orlando Magic, Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers, and Tim Duncan-led San Antonio Spurs. These results had Shaq believing this year to be a golden opportunity, as his major competitors were eliminated in the previous round. After his short stint with the Boston Celtics, Shaquille O’Neal hung up his boots and said goodbye to a Hall of Fame career.
