Shaquille O’Neal made his mark with the Los Angeles Lakers
Shaquille O’Neal spent 8 very productive seasons with the Lakers. He played in 514 games (509 starts) with the Lakers and he averaged 35.7 minutes, 27.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. O’Neal finished #2 in blocked shots in Lakers’ history with 1,278 of them. He was also #5 in rebounds (6,090) and #7 in points scored (13,895) in Lakers’ history. O’Neal will without a doubt in my mind enter the Basketball Hall of Fame in a Lakers’ jersey as that is the team he had his most success with. O’Neal retired from the NBA yesterday. He played in 1,207 games (1,197 starts) in his NBA career and he averaged 34.7 minutes, 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game.
It’s funny because when Shaq signed with Boston, as a Laker fan, it was hard not to condemn him for that unthinkable act. However, when he retired and the old highlights of him in purple and gold came out in droves, you couldn’t help but remember what he did and still does mean to the Lakers franchise. It’s also still hard not to think about what could have been if he and Kobe could have just kept the train going for a little longer. While it’s hard to say that he will “always be a Laker”, we can’t forget the threepeat that he was the clear leader of. Great blog by the way!
You have to remember Stan, Shaq was caught in a tough situation last summer when LeBron James decided to bolt Cleveland. It was late in free agency and he knew that he wanted to take one last shot at a Championship. With that in mind, Boston was a solid destination for him. When O’Neal goes into Basketball’s Hall of Fame, I’m pretty sure he will have a Lakers’ uniform on. Thanks for the kind words Stan.