Tag: shaquille o’neal

On this date: Shaq/Kobe Lakers win first NBA championship

The Lakers of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant finally reached the mountaintop in 2000, as they beat the Pacers to win the NBA championship.

When Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant both joined the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 1996, fans assumed multiple championships were imminent and that the only thing left to do was to plan the parade route through downtown L.A.

Not so fast.

The Lakers were young and immature, and they would have a lot to learn on their journey to glory.

They lost in the second round of the 1997 playoffs in brutal fashion to the Utah Jazz, then got swept by the same Jazz squad the following year.

In 1999, Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs got their chance to torment O’Neal and Bryant by sweeping them in the Western Conference semifinals.

Many were starting to doubt whether the team and its duo had what it took to go all the way.

That summer, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as their new head coach, and he single-handedly changed the culture and mindset of the team.

After winning 67 games and outlasting the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

A vintage clutch Bryant performance in Game 4 gave L.A. a 3-1 series lead, and after it dropped Game 5, it returned home looking to finish the job.

The Pacers were stubborn, and they led Game 6 84-79 going into the fourth quarter.

The Lakers then started a big rally that got them a seven-point lead by the middle of the quarter, although Indiana wasn’t going to quit, as it tied the game with 5:08 left.

But it just didn’t have enough firepower, as the Lakers finally got their rings, 116-111.

O’Neal scored 41 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked four shots, and for averaging 38.0 points on 61.1 percent shooting, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in the Finals, he was named series MVP.

He put together perhaps the greatest individual season in basketball history, and it finally put his team over the top while starting a new dynasty for it.

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On this date: Lakers claim third straight NBA championship

The Lakers reached a lofty stratosphere by winning their third straight NBA championship in 2002 versus the New Jersey Nets.

When Phil Jackson took over as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 1999, the franchise’s legacy and mystique were intact, but it had gone 11 years since winning the NBA title and eight years since appearing in the championship series.

By instituting his famed triangle offense, bringing the team’s factions together and getting it to believe in its destiny, Jackson drove the Lakers to the championship in 2000, then followed it up with another the following year.

By the 2001-02 season, they looked so invincible that they found themselves bored with the regular season.

But they got past their chief rivals, the Sacramento Kings, in the Western Conference Finals and took a 3-0 lead over the overmatched New Jersey Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals.

In Game 4, the Lakers reached a rarified air that not even the Showtime teams could attain by claiming their third straight world championship.

The Nets showed fight throughout, but they just didn’t have the firepower to prevent Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and company from taking a 113-107 decision in East Rutherford, N.J.

O’Neal finished with 34 points and 10 rebounds while averaging 36.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per game in the series. He also set a playoff record for most points in a four-game sweep with 145.

It all earned the big fella his third straight Finals MVP award. He joined Michael Jordan as the only other player to achieve that feat.

With three straight titles, the Lakers had laid down the foundation for a dynasty. At the time, it looked like more titles were inevitable, as Bryant was just 23, and although O’Neal was 30, it was presumed that he had many more productive years left in him.

The team would get to five rings in the era, but it wouldn’t happen the way it envisioned back in 2002.

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Shareef O’Neal eligible for 2022 NBA Draft

O’Neal will remain in the NBA Draft pool after some confusion.

After some confusion, [autotag]Shareef O’Neal[/autotag] will remain in the 2022 NBA Draft.

He had previously been seen on a list of withdrawals, but it now appears that was a mistake, according to a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

It’s hard to pinpoint where O’Neal will be selected in this draft or if he even will be at all. A lot of it will depend on how teams view his health and the judgments they were able to make despite him missing much of his career due to a heart condition.

O’Neal spent a year at UCLA before transferring to LSU. After the Tigers and coach [autotag]Will Wade[/autotag] parted ways, O’Neal entered the transfer portal before ultimately deciding to declare for the draft.

O’Neal averaged 2.9 points and 1.4 rebounds per game with LSU last season, but he played less than 10 minutes per contest.

He is a former four-star recruit, and it will be interesting to see what NBA club takes a gamble as the is talent there.

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On this date: Shaq, Kobe are dominant in 2001 NBA Finals vs. 76ers

After dropping Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals to the 76ers, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were their best selves in a Game 2 Lakers win.

After going 11-0 in the first three rounds of the 2001 NBA Playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers entered the NBA Finals versus the Philadelphia 76ers widely expected to run the table and become the first team to win the NBA championship while going undefeated through the postseason.

The Sixers possessed league MVP Allen Iverson and Defensive Player of the Year Dikembe Mutombo, but no one else on their roster would’ve cracked the rotation of most other good or great teams.

Still, Philly shocked L.A. by defeating it in Game 1. It was the first time the Lakers had lost a game in over two calendar months. In Game 2, the Lakers returned to basics, and their two superstars set the tone.

Kobe Bryant bounced back after a lousy Game 1 with 31 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal had a huge outing: 28 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists and eight blocked shots.

After a tight first half, the Lakers pulled away from the stubborn Sixers for a 98-89 win, as their defense ignited a fair number of fast-break scores.

By the end of the contest, everything in the world seemed right again. Even though, at the time, it looked as if the teams were in for a dogfight the rest of the way, O’Neal’s brute force and Bryant’s skill and will proved way too much for the undermanned Sixers.

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On this date: Shaq/Kobe Lakers advance to NBA Finals for first time

Game 7 of the WCF was one of the greatest wins in Lakers history, as Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant finally got over the hump.

Four years into their tenure on the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant had yet to advance to the NBA Finals together.

It looked like the 2000 season would be the year they finally got there, as the Lakers won a league-best 67 games in the regular season and were the prohibitive favorites to win it all going into the playoffs.

After a topsy-turvy first six games of the Western Conference Finals versus the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers would play for a trip to the championship series in Game 7.

To that point, the O’Neal-Bryant Lakers had a history of folding meekly in big playoff games.

Early on, it looked like that would be the case again. Although they trailed by just three points at halftime, it seemed they were down by more than that, as their offense was stilted and tentative.

The Lakers had lots of trouble overcoming Portland’s defense to get the ball to O’Neal in the low post, and everyone else, save for Bryant, was being overly cautious.

Late in the third quarter, the Blazers went up by as many as 16 and displayed confidence that was bordering on arrogance.

It looked like it was all over for the Lakers. Of all their recent playoff losses, this was going to be the worst one, as they held a 3-1 series lead at one point.

But that’s when they charged back.

L.A. pecked away at Portland’s lead, while Portland suddenly became tentative themselves and went through a massive dry spell. The Lakers finally tied the game with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, and they never looked back.

The man who led the comeback was Bryant, who played perhaps his finest all-around game since coming to the NBA. He finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots while putting the Lakers over the top.

With 1:34 left and the score tied at 79, Bryant drew a foul on Rasheed Wallace and made both free throws. Moments later, he hit a jumper to put L.A, up by four.

After Scottie Pippen missed a 3-pointer, the Lakers rebounded the ball and gave it back to Bryant. He hit Pippen with a crossover dribble, then threw an alley-oop pass to O’Neal for one of the most iconic plays in Lakers history.

L.A. had finally gotten over the hump, and it had done so in Hollywood fashion.

It would go on to defeat the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals to win the first of three straight titles and five during the Bryant-Phil Jackson era.

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Shaq did bicep curls with Reggie Miller in his arms, and NBA fans thought it was hilarious

It seems Shaq can get his gains by curling prolific shooters, too.

One of the reasons many folks gravitate to the NBA on TNT crew is because of how much fun they appear to have together.

Between Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Reggie Miller — among others — this crew seems to have an absolute blast on camera. And those laughs and joy appear to be a priority. If they happen to talk about any basketball along the way, it’s just a cherry on top.

We were treated to yet another example of their fun when the NBA on TNT production team filmed Shaq and Miller in the gym. Upon a prompt from Shaq, the two agreed that the big man would bicep curl Miller in his arms.

The ensuing results were absolutely delightful:

Four reps of a Hall of Fame shooting guard and a good workout. You can’t beat it.

NBA fans loved the pair getting after it together in the gym.

Harden-Embiid duo doesn’t compare to Shaq-Kobe, says Shaq

Shaquille O’Neal thinks it’s ridiculous to compare the Sixers’ new duo to himself and the late Kobe Bryant.

The Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant duo of the late 1990s and early 2000s was one of the greatest the NBA has ever seen.

Together, the tandem took the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals four times in a five-year span while delivering three straight world championships.

When James Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers a few months ago to team up with MVP candidate Joel Embiid, a few misguided souls thought the Sixers had just assembled the equivalent of another O’Neal-Bryant duo.

But it didn’t exactly pan out, as they exited the second round of the playoffs in meek fashion.

O’Neal reminded everyone that the real thing cannot be beaten.

Via Lakers Daily:

“Apparently, O’Neal is not a fan of the comparison. He took to Instagram to state that there is only one ‘superduo.'”

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Embiid played beneath his standards in the Eastern Conference semifinals when Harden struggled all season long with his shooting efficiency.

Some are now wondering if Harden will even be on the Sixers’ roster this fall.

Despite their personal issues, the sweet memories of the O’Neal-Bryant combo will live on forever.

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On this date: Shaquille O’Neal leads Lakers to upset over Seattle

In the 1998 Western Conference semis, Shaquille O’Neal feasted on the Seattle SuperSonics and led the Lakers to a surprising series win.

When the young and talented 1997-98 Los Angeles Lakers finished the regular season with a 61-21 record, they looked to have a real chance at reaching the NBA Finals.

But many doubted they had the maturity or mental toughness to get there or even make noise in the playoffs.

When L.A. faced the Seattle SuperSonics in the second round, it looked like it was headed for another humbling postseason elimination, especially after they handed it a 106-92 loss in Game 1.

But then the tables turned, and it shocked even some Lakers fans.

Shaquille O’Neal played perhaps his best ball since joining the team two summers prior, and the Purple and Gold won each of the next four games by double-digits, sending the Sonics home for the summer with a gentleman’s sweep.

The big fella scored 30, 39 and 31 points in the final three games of the series, as he made Vin Baker and the rest of Seattle’s frontline look like schoolchildren.

In the Game 5 clincher, O’Neal also added an incredible eight blocked shots as L.A. slammed the door on Seattle, 110-95.

Shooting guard Eddie Jones, a fan favorite, also played big in this series, scoring 29 points in Game 3 and 32 in Game 4.

The Lakers seemed to be coming of age before everyone’s eyes, but the Utah Jazz would remind them they still weren’t ready to win yet by sweeping them in the Western Conference Finals.

Still, the league was put on notice, and it would be just two years before O’Neal and Kobe Bryant would start collecting championship rings.

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Pedro Martinez found something Shaq is worse at than free throws: batting practice

Swing and a miss and a miss and a miss

It was only about a week ago the Inside the NBA crew invited their TBS baseball counterparts over to Studio J to help Kenny Smith demonstrate a play live on air.

The fun little crossover event took an even more entertaining turn when that play resulted in Curtis Granderson scoring a bucket on Shaquille O’Neal—much to the absolute dismay of the Big Diesel.

Well, it was only fair the TBS crew invite Shaq over to their studio and offer him a shot at redemption with a little batting practice. The only slight problem, as pretty much anyone who has played the sport will tell you, is that hitting a baseball is very, very hard.

It’s even harder when the man throwing that baseball is Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.

Needless to say, it did not go well for Shaq.

Oh dear.

What an unenviable position for Lauren Shehadi, too, having to give little league instructions to one of the greatest athletes ever. It’s not like Pedro was even throwing heaters. He was just lobbing them over the plate so Shaq could make contact.

Martinez even joked the only way O’Neal is getting on base is by leaning into a ball.

Then again, Pedro might want to be careful with his words. All it takes is one swing for Shaq to demolish a pitch and leave Martinez’s ego bruised forever. Kind of like what Granderson did to Shaq last week.

 

Shaq says Ben Simmons should call him if he wants apology

Shaquille O’Neal’s message for Ben Simmons over his ‘punk move’ commentary.

Shaquille O’Neal was one of the many national NBA commentators to call out Ben Simmons for not attempting to play late in the Brooklyn Nets’ season, calling Simmons’ behavior a “punk move.”

“Listen, if you’re not ready to play, you would get more respect from the people if you just say ‘I’m not ready to play.’ And don’t say nothing else,” O’Neal said ahead of Game 4 of the Nets-Celtics series. “Don’t be shooting and saying ‘I’m coming back; I’m going to do this.’ That was a punk move.”

Once it was announced that Simmons would undergo offseason back surgery, the Nets star retweeted a video arguing that people like Shaq and Stephen A. Smith owed Simmons an apology.

In a conversation with Taylor Rooks, O’Neal said that Simmons should call him if the Nets star believes he was wronged, but Shaq also stood behind his take on Simmons, noting that he has people close to the situation in Brooklyn.

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“When you leave people room to speculate, everybody going to make their own speculation. If I said something that was hurtful, maybe he should call me and say ‘hey, you said this.’

And then I will, I’m intelligent enough to stop time and say ‘OK, when did I say it…. you know what, that wasn’t right. My bad, big homie.’ But right now we’re just going off speculation, and some facts, because I’ve got people where he is. So I know a lot and I see a lot. He hasn’t said why he wasn’t, why he’s not playing.”

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