Throughout his incredible 18-year career in the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal had his fair share of good teammates. He was often the best player on the roster, but the constant injuries and his age derailed his career towards the end.
Shaq spent most of his career with the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers before bouncing around the league, joining the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and even Boston Celtics.
That’s why it’s not surprising to see that every single NBA Finals series since 1984 has featured at least one player who was teammates with Shaq at some point in his career.
Shaq entered the league in 1992/93 and retired in 2007/08, so only a few of his teammates are still around the league. That means that his 27-year streak could come to an end this season unless the Los Angeles Clippers make it to the biggest stage.
Now that Danny Green of the Philadelphia 76ers and Jeff Green of the Brooklyn Nets aren’t in the playoffs, Rajon Rondo is the only former teammate of Shaq still with a chance to win an NBA Championship.
However, Rondo and the Clippers will have quite the tough road to make it to the big series, as they’re already facing a 0-1 deficit in the Western Conference Finals and will have to get past the up-and-coming Phoenix Suns without Kawhi Leonard.
The Clippers have been quite resilient and Tyronn Lue has demonstrated that he’s an elite tactician, so there’s a chance that this streak lives on another year.
