Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest players to ever live. Some claim he had all it took to even take down Michael Jordan as the greatest player in the history of the game, but injuries and lack of effort (in the gym) derailed his career right at his peak.
What no one can deny is that Shaq was the most dominant player in the league by a long stretch. The Big Diesel was just too big, too fast, too strong, too athletic, too smart, and too talented to be stopped on either side of the hardwood.
And among all the great seasons he had, his 1999-00 campaign stands out the most. As a matter of fact, you could argue that the had a perfect season when you take an in-depth look at his numbers, awards, and accolades overall.
Shaquille O’Neal averaged a league-high 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds (2nd), 3.8 assists (1st among centers), and 3.0 blocks (3rd) per game on a league-leading 57.4% from the floor. He also led the NBA in field goal attempts, field goals made, free throw attempts, PER (30.6), offensive win shares (11.7), defensive win shares (7.0), win shares (18.6), Box plus-minus (9.3), and VORP (9.0).
So, besides winning the Scoring title, Shaq led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 67-15 record, obviously made it to the All-Star Game, and won the All-Star MVP after posting 22 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.
His incredible numbers granted him the only MVP he won over his career, although some argue he should have won at least two more. Also, he took things up a notch in the playoffs and led the Lakers past the Kings, Suns, and Blazers to face the Pacers in the Finals.
Needless to say, Shaq was far from satisfied at that point. He averaged 38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.7 blocks per game on 61.1% from the floor and led the Lakers to a 4-2 victory, thus winning his first NBA Championship and the first of three straight Finals MVP awards. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
