Shaquille O’Neal is by far the most dominant player in NBA history. O’Neal found so much success capitalizing on his downright frightening combination of size, speed, and strength.
Shaq entered the league in 1992 to great fanfare. Playing with the Orlando Magic, he is part of the only NBA team that defeated a Michael Jordan-led Bulls in a playoff series in 1995.
But Shaq’s true potential was unlocked when he moved to the Los Angeles Lakers. After being paired up with Kobe Bryant, the duo formed an impressive tandem in purple and gold.
Off the back of Shaq’s dominant physical play, the Lakers won three consecutive NBA championships. While Kobe was extremely critical during this period, Shaq was the man in LA.
O’Neal also proved he could win without LA when he moved to Miami and won an NBA championship with Dwyane Wade and the Heat.
For Shaq, he did have to endure a learning curve in the NBA. Playing against the best of the best at his position, O’Neal got to learn a lot about his preferred style of play.
The moment O’Neal realized that he could do what several other big men couldn’t be was the moment when he became the powerhouse we all remember him as today.
In Shaq’s own words, he believes that when he learned that he could use his greater strength to play bully ball against the biggest of bigs was when he became the dominant force that he is.
“David Robinson runs faster. Patrick Ewing shoots better. Hakeem Olajuwon has all the moves. But I’m stronger. Lemme beat these guys up.”
Despite being 7’0, Shaq was by no means the first dominant big man in the NBA. But perhaps no one in history was able to combine their physical gifts better than ‘the Diesel’ did.
