Looking Back: 1990s Lakers All-Decade Team
By Jacob Rude
Center – Shaquille O’Neal
Yes, we have a second appearance for Shaq, who was on our all-2000s team for the same position. And honestly, I debated putting Vlade Divac in over Shaq, But in this quality vs. quantity debate, the dominating quality won out. Despite playing in just three years of the 90s, O’Neal averaged 27.0 points and 11.5 rebounds during that time.
As I stated, Divac was the other obvious choice, and the only other option. Divac spent seven years in Los Angeles and averaged 12.5 points and 8.7 rebounds during his 520 games. However, he’s more known for being the player brought to LA in exchange for him during the 1996 NBA Draft.
But in the end, it was O’Neal who is the decade’s best center. No one in the league has been as dominant in their prime as O’Neal, and he was absolutely in his prime during the late 90s.
Honorable Mentions: Vlade Divac