Shaquille O’Neal played for iconic franchises like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics during his NBA career, but not the New York Knicks. It appears there was a good reason for that, as O’Neal revealed why he turned down the Knicks when he was leaving the Lakers on the latest episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq.
“Confession,” O’Neal said. “… After I left the Lakers, the Knicks was a contender. But I turned them down because I like driving, and you can’t drive in New York… I got two big trucks that would get tore off in New York. You can’t park them nowhere.”
O’Neal enjoyed tremendous success during his time with the Lakers, leading them to a historic three-peat from 2000 to 2002. Clashes with Kobe Bryant behind the scenes and not getting the bumper contract he wanted, though, contributed to the big man wanting out in 2004.
A host of teams were interested in O’Neal, and he would end up being traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and a future first-round pick. While he was never quite the same after leaving the Lakers, he did finish runner-up for MVP in 2005 and helped the Heat win their first-ever NBA title in 2006.
Would O’Neal have had similar success had he gone to the Knicks? It’s hard to say. The Knicks did have a star in Stephon Marbury, but he was no Dwyane Wade. As good as O’Neal was for the Heat in that title run in 2006, Wade was the driving force and won Finals MVP.
O’Neal deciding against going to the Knicks meant their barren run in terms of All-Stars would continue. No player on their roster made the All-Star team from 2002 to 2009.
David Lee would be the one to finally end that unwanted streak in 2010. The Knicks unsurprisingly failed to even win a playoff series during this stretch, and it’s only now that they’ve become a contender in the East.
Shaquille O’Neal Wanted To Go To The Mavericks In 2004
While O’Neal didn’t want to go to New York, he was interested in being in Dallas. The big man once revealed he tried to go to the Dallas Mavericks in 2004.
“I tried to get to Dallas many times. Me and Mark Cuban were working behind the scenes. I thought Mark was the first person I called.”
“I called Mark, ‘Whatever you have to do to get me there.’ He’s like, ‘The Lakers won’t do it, man!’ I was like, ‘Make them do it, Mark!’ But they didn’t do it. That would have been nice.”
You’d imagine the Lakers didn’t want to trade O’Neal to a team in the Western Conference, especially one that was routinely winning 50+ games every season with Dirk Nowitzki leading the way. Sending him far away to Miami was certainly the better option.
The Lakers struggled following O’Neal’s departure, as they failed to make the playoffs in 2005 and were knocked out in the first round in 2006 and 2007. It was only after acquiring Pau Gasol that they returned to the top, winning back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.
