Tag: shaquille o’neal

Shaquille O’Neal was jealous when LeBron James became NBA’s all-time leading scorer

When LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Shaquille O’Neal says he felt envious.

The Los Angeles Lakers have had an embarrassment of riches over the decades when it comes to possessing some of the NBA’s greatest players of all time.

Years before LeBron James came to town, they were led by Shaquille O’Neal, who, like James, was one of the sport’s greatest physical specimens ever.

He may have been the most dominant player ever during his peak in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, his peak was too short, and he started declining in his early 30s.

In contrast, James is still playing at an elite level at age 38, and in February he became the NBA’s all-time leading career scorer.

O’Neal admitted during a recent episode of the “I Am Athlete” podcast that he felt jealous when James accomplished the feat and wished it was he who had surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career mark.

Via Sportskeeda:

“I say it all the time. It was professional jealousy at that moment. I wish that was me. I know what I would have done. ‘Me, I’m the greatest,’” O’Neal said.

The 2000 league MVP has a lot to be proud of as it is with four NBA championships, three straight NBA Finals MVPs and 28,596 points over his 19-year career. James still has a long way to go to match O’Neal’s accomplishments in a Lakers uniform.

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What Boston Celtics are the highest earners from their NCAA schools?

As the 2023 NCAA Tourney unfolds, we look back on which Celtics alumni made the most money in the NBA from their respective schools.

With the entirety of college basketball fandom and then some focused on the 2023 NCAA Tournament as we inch closer to crowning a national champion at that level of the sport, attention to the college roots of the players of today and yesteryear also comes into momentary focus.

We can look back at the collegiate history of the Boston Celtics‘ top players, for example, and find a number of the storied ball club’s alumni are also among the highest earners for their respective schools at the NBA level. At blue blood schools like UConn, Duke, and Kansas to lesser-decorated but still well-represented universities like LSU, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, Celtics alumni have made a pretty penny at the NBA level.

Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni are the top earners in the NBA for their respective colleges in the modern era.

Mario Chalmers: Nobody fears playing against LeBron James

Several NBA players have said opponents don’t fear playing against LeBron James the way players in the past did when facing Michael Jordan.

LeBron James has been arguably the greatest NBA player of the past dozen years or so, and according to a slowly growing contingent of fans, he just may be the greatest ever.

The greatest-of-all-time debate will likely rage on forever without a clear-cut answer, but one thing is for sure: One measure of being the greatest ever in any sport is how much opponents feared competing against that player.

In the 1990s, men around the NBA were famously petrified of going up against Michael Jordan, especially since his Chicago Bulls teams were always the overwhelming favorite to win the world championship whenever he played a full season.

The same could be said of Kobe Bryant during the first decade of the 21st century.

But apparently, James hasn’t generated the same type of extreme apprehension.

Guard Mario Chalmers, who won back-to-back titles with him on the Miami Heat, said that nobody fears going up against him.

Via For The Win:

“Nobody fears Bron. Nobody’s like ‘(expletive) I gotta go play against Bron tonight.’ Nobody said that. I don’t know why. Because I seen people be scared when they actually lined up to him but they’re not scared thinking about that matchup, right? You hear anybody from that era talk about going against Jordan, there’s a fear. So when you have people that fear a player, then that’s telling you something different already. Like, Jordan is just that guy.”

James doesn’t have the same mythology that Jordan built up for himself. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Jordan was 6-0 in the NBA Finals, while James, at least thus far, is just 4-6 in the championship series.

Former UNC forward Walker Kessler passes Hall of Famer for rookie record

Former UNC basketball forward Walker Kessler has passed a Hall of Famer for one NBA rookie record.

Former UNC basketball forward [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag] is continuing his terrific rookie season in the NBA and is setting league-rookie records along the way.

Playing for the Utah Jazz, Kessler recorded his 11th double-double with at least three blocks, third most in the NBA.

But, it’s a record that broke a mark held by a Hall of Famer that is raising eyebrows.

Kessler’s nine double-doubles this season with at least three blocks and 70% field goal percentage from the field has surpassed Shaq’s record for NBA rookies.

On the season, Kessler is averaging 8.7 points, 8.4 rebounds 2.3 blocks and 22.7 minutes per game.

He’s had six double-doubles in his last eight games. He has 18 double-doubles this season and five additional double-digit rebound games.

Walker was the No. 22 selection in the 2022 NBA draft.

“Walker is somebody that myself and the rest of the staff are constantly encouraging to just sort of let it rip,” Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy recently said about Kessler. “He’s obviously incredibly talented, he works very hard at improving, but he’s a very conscientious kid.”

Kessler played one season for UNC, averaging 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 8.8 minutes per game. He transferred to Auburn where he averaged 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.6 blocks and 25.6 minutes.

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Boston alum Shaquille O’Neal recovering from hip replacement surgery

Shaquille O’Neal posted on his Twitter account images that had him in a hospital bed without an explanation of why he was there.

Fans of Boston Celtics alum Shaquille O’Neal who saw recently-posted images of the Hall of Fame big man on his Twitter account that had him in a hospital bed were understandably concerned about why the LSU alum was in such a spot, but The Big Aristotle set them straight in an Instagram post. “To all the people who are concerned. First let me start off by saying thank you,” shared Shaq (h/t CNN’s Lisa Respers France).

“And lastly I am fine. Just had to get some (Brazilian butt lift) work done A.K.A. #hipreplacement. but yes I am fine no need to worry,” he continued jokingly.

TMZ reports that Shaq had a surgical procedure to put an artificial joint in place of the one he punished on a nightly basis while building a career in the NBA, with everything going well.

O’Neal joined the Celtics in the 2010-11 season as a backup center who was hoped to help propel Boston to another title during the Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce-Ray Allen era of contention, but injuries derailed his single season in green and white.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Among frontcourt greats in the NBA, Celtics’ Bill Russell cast a long shadow

And when those peers honored him with a lifetime achievement award, he couldn’t resist making a joke.

In 2017, during the first annual NBA awards show, the league honored Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man Bill Russell with a lifetime achievement award. It was presented by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson and Dikembe Mutombo — all big man legends in their own right. His friend and mentee Abdul-Jabbar spoke on Russell’s legacy.

“Combining a point guard’s quickness with a big man’s size, Bill’s talents refined this sport,” said the Los Angeles Laker legend via NBA on TNT (h/t Sportscasting’s Tim van Straten). “He showed how basketball could be won on the defensive end of the court; using his mind, as well as his body, to outthink and outsmart opponents.”

“Whether it’s his lifetime commitment to civil rights, or his role as founder of MENTOR, a national youth mentoring organization, Bill’s legacy is as profound as it is thrilling,” he added.

Russell’s response revolving around an obscene hand gesture followed by an assurance he would kick their (expletive) was legendary.

“Thank you, you have no idea how much respect I have for you guys,” Russell continued. “Because you did it in your own time, in your own way, and I appreciate that. And it made me proud to have played this same game as you guys.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Shaquille O’Neal names interesting Lakers all-time starting lineup

Some fans of the Purple and Gold may have a bit of an issue with Shaquille O’Neal all-time Lakers starting five.

With kind apologies to Boston Celtics fans, the Los Angeles Lakers are the most storied franchise in basketball history. They have won the most NBA championships since 1980 of any team (11), and, no doubt, the reason is they have been a preferred destination for superstars.

That notion was reinforced in the summer of 1996 when Shaquille O’Neal joined them after leaving the Orlando Magic as a free agent. Of course, it was the same offseason that Kobe Bryant found his way to the Lakers after declaring for the draft straight out of high school.

O’Neal had quite the tenure with the Purple and Gold: a regular-season MVP and scoring title in the 1999-2000 season, three straight world championships and NBA Finals MVPs, not to mention indelible memories.

He recently named his all-time Lakers starting five, and it is an interesting one at that.

O’Neal had himself at center, Magic Johnson at point guard, Jerry West as the off-guard, Bryant at small forward and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the 4.

One could argue that those five are the greatest Lakers players ever, but this lineup may not work in real life, as Bryant and Abdul-Jabbar would be playing out of position.

Still, O’Neal is entitled to his opinion, and perhaps there is no objectively correct answer in this debate.

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Anthony Davis was first Laker to accomplish amazing feat since Shaq

On Tuesday, Anthony Davis became the first Laker since Shaquille O’Neal to have multiple 30-point, 20-rebound games in the same season.

Anthony Davis has been playing awesome basketball lately, and it has been paying off for the Los Angeles Lakers.

With LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell out due to injury, Davis has put his team on his back the way many have been waiting for the last couple of years.

He had 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting and 22 rebounds in the Lakers’ 112-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. Two days before that, he erupted for 39 points, eight rebounds and six assists in their victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Davis has hit the 30-point mark in four of his last five games, and he has had at least two blocked shots in each of his last nine contests. As a result, Los Angeles is 7-3 in its last 10 games, despite not having James for seven of them.

In addition, Tuesday marked Davis’ second 30-point, 20-rebound contest of the season, which made him the first Laker since Shaquille O’Neal in the 2003-04 campaign to do so.

Of course, Davis has a long way to go before he matches O’Neal’s accomplishments in L.A., which include three straight NBA championships, three straight NBA Finals MVPs and a scoring title.

However, “The Brow” is having what could be considered a career year. His scoring average of 26.5 points a game is his highest in five years, and his 12.5 rebounds a game and 56.3% shooting accuracy are career-bests.

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LSU men’s basketball all-time roster: Tiger Legends

The Tigers have had a surprising amount of talent come through their basketball program over the years

March is upon us, and that means that the madness will also return to us soon.

Unfortunately, LSU (in all likelihood) won’t be participating in the festivities after a rough first season under coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] that featured a 14-game losing streak that lasted from late December until the end of February.

This will be the first NCAA Tournament the Tigers have missed since 2018. Although LSU basketball has, historically, been a bit of an afterthought compared to the more successful football and baseball programs, it’s had a surprising level of consistency.

Aside from several lengthy droughts — most notably in recent years from 1993-00 and 2009-19 (with the exception of 2015) — this team has regularly appeared in the postseason for much of the last several decades, though it is still searching for its first national title. Those teams have, unsurprisingly, featured quite a bit of talent over the years.

With that in mind, we’re taking a crack at piecing together an all-time two-deep LSU basketball roster including one head coach and two assistants. Let’s start things off with the coaching staff, with our first choice likely coming as no surprise.

The peak GOATs: Ranking the NBA’s best at their best

HoopsHype ranks 25 of the NBA’s GOATS in order of best five-year peaks, as judged by Global Rating and a panel of voters.

After LeBron James beat the scoring record, many started calling him the Longevity GOAT, some in a complimentary manner, others as a way to cop out from calling him the actual GOAT. (For what it’s worth, we still have Michael Jordan first in our own GOAT rankings, but it’s certainly not as easy of a decision as it once was.)

So that got us thinking about which of the NBA’s GOATs had the best five-year peak in NBA history, something we are going to take a look at today.

To determine when exactly each player’s peak took place, we used our own Global Rating Metric and went by each player’s best five continuous seasons.

Afterward, we used a panel of our writers and editors to vote on which five-year peaks by NBA legends were the best.

No. 1 might not come as a surprise but there are some very interesting results on the following list.