In the early 2000s, there was no team that hoped to win a championship that wouldn’t have to go through Shaquille O’Neal at some point. From 1999 to 2006, O’Neal went to five NBA Finals and won four rings, taking home three Finals MVPs in the process.
One of the only centers to have taken on the Shaq challenge was Ben Wallace. A clip of Wallace blocking Shaq during O’Neal’s Miami Heat stint irked the ire of the four-time champion. He commented on the clip by telling everyone that it was a foul and reminding them who won the series.
“That’s a f***ing foul. And they lost the series.”
This was during the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals, where Shaq and Dwyane Wade made it to the NBA Finals by stopping the Pistons from having a third consecutive Finals appearance. The Heat went on to win the title, with O’Neal averaging 21.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks against the Pistons and then 13.7 points, 10.2 rebounds against the Mavericks.
Ben Wallace Gave Shaq A Run For His Money
Wallace is one of the greatest defensive centers in the history of the game, winning four Defensive Player of the Year trophies and making six All-Defensive teams. O’Neal dominated virtually everyone in his career but averaged just 24.5 points and 9.6 rebounds against Wallace and his teams in his career,
The 2004 Finals was an incredible matchup between Shaq’s Lakers, looking to win a fourth consecutive title against the Pistons, one of the greatest defenses in league history. The Pistons comfortably won the series 4-1 as Shaq averaged 26.6 points and 10.8 rebounds on Wallace. There were underlying problems on the Lakers squad, but O’Neal had to wait till 2006 to get his revenge on Wallace and the Pistons.
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