- Shaquille O’Neal led the Lakers to three NBA championships
- We at Fadeaway World had O’Neal as the fourth-greatest Laker ever
- The Hall of Famer had no issues with the ranking
Shaquille O’Neal is quite simply one of the greatest players in the storied history of the Los Angeles Lakers. We at Fadeaway World had ranked O’Neal as the fourth-greatest in franchise history, and the big man agreed, as he shared the graphic on Instagram.
“Thanks, I’ll take it.”
You can check out our reasoning for ranking them as the 10 greatest players in Lakers history, and trust me it wasn’t easy. They’ve just had so many great players suit up for them that narrowing it down to 10 is difficult, as there are so many options to choose from.
We prepared a Lakers all-time GOAT pyramid, and it shows how many quality players they’ve had over the years. For most franchises in the NBA, Shaq would be in the running for the greatest in history, but not the Lakers. O’Neal shared our Lakers GOAT pyramid as well, and we appreciate him sharing some of our content from time to time.
Shaquille O’Neal’s Incredible Lakers Career
O’Neal joined the Lakers as a free agent in 1996 in what was a big coup for the franchise. L.A. had been good but not great after the “Showtime era” and desperately needed a superstar to put them back on top.
It took a couple of years and the arrival of Phil Jackson as head coach, but O’Neal finally led the Lakers to the championship in 2000. It kickstarted an incredible run of dominance, as L.A. would go on to three-peat from 2000 to 2002.
O’Neal averaged mind-boggling numbers in those three NBA Finals, putting up 35.8 points, 15.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.9 blocks per game. He was the best player in the league, winning MVP in 2000, and no one had an answer for his devastating combination of physicality and skill.
Unfortunately, the good times weren’t going to last for much longer. In 2003, the Lakers lost in the Conference Semifinals to the San Antonio Spurs, and the following year, they lost in the Finals to the Detroit Pistons.
That defeat signaled the end of O’Neal’s time as a Laker, with tensions between him and Kobe Bryant getting to an all-time high. He wanted out and the team traded him to the Miami Heat. All in all, in his eight seasons as a Laker, Shaq averaged 27.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game.
O’Neal Was Dismayed After Jeanie Buss Excluded Him From List Of The 5 Most Important Lakers
O’Neal is quite active on social media and isn’t one to shy away from expressing his emotions there. So, Jeanie Buss’ list of the five most important Lakers of all time, which featured Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, and Phil Jackson, wasn’t going to sit well with him.
O’Neal was dismayed at Buss not having him as one of the five most important Lakers after everything he had done for the franchise. Eventually, she clarified that she had gotten the question wrong.
Buss stated she excluded O’Neal as she thought the question was the most important Lakers of all time for her career, who prepared her for her current role as president of the franchise.
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