O’Neal came in at No. 17, and ESPN writer Dave McMenamin recounted his dominance by telling a story about Phil Jackson meeting with him shortly after becoming the Lakers’ head coach in 1999.
Via ESPN:
“When Phil Jackson took a then 27-year-old O’Neal out to dinner during training camp ahead of the 1999-2000 Lakers season, the Zen Master challenged the center with a lofty objective,” wrote McMenamin.”‘I told him that he should make it his goal to be the MVP,’ Jackson wrote in 2016. ‘In fact, I suggested to him that, by the time he retired, they should rename the trophy the Shaq Award!’
“O’Neal went on to win three MVPs during the ensuing campaign: He was named co-MVP of the All-Star Game along with Tim Duncan for posting 22 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in a win for the West; he was regular-season MVP after averaging 29.7 points, 13.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.0 blocks; and he was NBA Finals MVP after averaging 38 points on 61.1% shooting, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in a six-game series win over the Indiana Pacers to capture the first of his three titles with the Lakers and four overall. The league never named the trophy after O’Neal, but he did pick up the moniker ‘Most Dominant Ever,’ which isn’t a bad consolation prize.”
O’Neal’s arrival in 1996 made the Lakers relevant again after they had gone into the doldrums following Magic Johnson’s first retirement in 1991, which ended the halcyon Showtime era.