Shaquille O’Neal’s Son Shaqir Reminisces About The Time Shaq Dunked On The Nets

Often dubbed the most dominant center in NBA history, Shaquille O’Neal constantly put stars on the poster. His physique allowed him to be an unstoppable force that could get away with bulldozing people on the floor. His son Shaqir O’Neal took to his socials to share one of the most iconic moments of his father’s career.

Though he was born in the early 2000s, he grew up just in time to see the last few years of his father’s prime. Shaqir decided to repost the timeless moment of his father posterizing the entire New Jersey Nets team. (Now Brooklyn Nets). The post was originally uploaded by ThrowbackHoops. 

This was from the 2002 NBA Finals when the Lakers and the Nets battled to seven games. Unfortunately for the Nets, LA went on to sweep them in the first four games, completing their much-coveted three-peat.

Former Nets forward Kenyon Martin spoke on facing Kobe and Shaq in the ‘02 Finals and he admitted to having no answer for either one of them. Hosting the Lakers for Game 4, the former Nets star wasn’t willing to go home that night. And when asked what the result was, this is what Martin had to say.

“We went home that night.”

Down three games, Martin was determined not to get swept and extend the series to just one more game.

The Shaq-Kobe tandem

Shaq’s performance in the 2002 NBA finals not only resulted in his third consecutive NBA championship but also the Finals MVP honors. And the Shaq-Kobe tandem became one of the deadliest one-two combos in NBA history.

Bryant could dominate the mid-range, drop long-range bombs, and do pretty much everything a guard is supposed to do. Shaq on the other hand was a specimen that no one had seen before in the league and no one had a solution on how to stop him.

Though this duo was disbanded shortly after their three-peat, imagine the havoc they would’ve created had they chosen to stay together. It sure is something to ponder upon.