In case you needed reminding, Shaquille O’Neal was an absolute monster for the Los Angeles Lakers
To start, it must be said that there will never be another player quite like former Lakers’ center, Shaquille O’Neal.
Similar to former teammate, Kobe Bryant, Shaq has stayed extremely relevant in retirement, most recently, getting praise heaped on him by former teammates and rivals. Set to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, Shaq will join Allen Iverson and Yao Ming among many others.
It is hard to appreciate just how dominate Shaq was during his time in the league, especially with Kobe Bryant’s legendary career so fresh in mind, but the NBA’s official site aimed to do just that when they released a four and a half minute video documenting the Big Diesel’s best moments.
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Entitled “Shaquille O’Neal’s Ultimate Career Mixtape,” Shaq was truly larger than life.
While this generation stands in awe of LeBron James and questions how a man so big and strong could be so fast at the same damn time, it must be noted that Shaq paved the way for awe-inspiring athletes everywhere.
At 7-foot-1, 300 plus pounds, Shaq moved like nothing you’ve ever seen before, just watch his college mixtapes for proof.
Despite playing for nearly the entire rainbow of NBA teams, Shaq will be most remembered for his time with the Los Angeles Lakers where he, alongside Kobe Bryant, created one of the most formidable one-two punches in NBA history.
Pat Riley recently even went so far as to call the Miami Heat’s acquisition of Shaq, “bigger than any acquisition that we ever made, including the Big Three.”
"“The seminal moment,” Riley says, “to really make us really, really legitimate. He turned our franchise around. He gave us real legitimacy.”"
Ironically, this could also have something to do with Riley’s current love-hate relationship with LeBron James, but that’s another story for another time.
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Regardless, for the time being, sit back, relax and enjoy some Shaq highlights before his big day later this week.