4. 2001 NBA Finals vs. Philadelphia 76ers – 44 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, 17-28 FG
If you want to know what Shaq would have played like if he had dedicated himself throughout his career, take a look at the 2001 NBA season and playoffs. The Lakers finished with a 56-26 record, then ripped off 11 straight wins through the Western Conference playoffs to earn the shortest trip possible into the NBA Finals.
The win streak got to their heads, as the Lakers ran into the buzzsaw that was Allen Iverson. While the Lakers would go on to lose the first game of the Finals, it was at no fault of O’Neal’s, who put up 44 points and battled Iverson mano y mano on the biggest stage in the NBA.
Even though it wasn’t enough on this night, it wasn’t even his best performance against the 76ers in that series. But we’ll get to that shortly.
Next: 2002 Western Conference Finals