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Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers’ all-time starting lineup

By Jonathan Kiernan

LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Kobe Bryant (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers holds the Larry O'Brian trophy as teammate Shaquille O'Neal (L) hold the MVP trophy after winning the NBA Championship against Indiana Pacers 19 June, 2000, after game six of the NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers won the game 116-111 to take the NBA title 4-2 in the best-of-seven series. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Kobe Bryant (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers holds the Larry O'Brian trophy as teammate Shaquille O'Neal (L) hold the MVP trophy after winning the NBA Championship against Indiana Pacers 19 June, 2000, after game six of the NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers won the game 116-111 to take the NBA title 4-2 in the best-of-seven series. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images) /
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(Photo credit should read JAMES NIELSEN/AFP via Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo credit should read JAMES NIELSEN/AFP via Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

Center: Shaquille O’Neal

1999-2000 season. The Big Diesel, The Big Aristotle, The Big Shaqtus, Superman, Big Daddy, Shaq-Fu, Dr. O’Neill and so many more. With so many nicknames, it would seem nearly impossible to live up to all the self-inflicted hype.

Runner up: Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan.

Shaq definitely lives up to the hype.

Shaq exploded onto the NBA scene in a big and bad way and quickly showed the World that his larger than life personality and body was going to be a fixture in the NBA for a long time.

Simply put, in a league full of unicorns, Shaq was the rarest unicorn of all.

Never has there been a player of Shaq’s size and weight who has been able to move as athletically as he has. Playing at over 300lbs for a large part of his career, Shaq was able to physically dominate every single player he came into contact with.

Much has been made of Shaq’s weight over the years with the late great Kobe Bryant challenging him numerous times about leaning out and getting into better shape, but for Shaq what worked for him worked for the team so he didn’t see a need to get into peak physical condition until the playoffs.

Kobe was right about wanting Shaq to get into better shape, but Shaq was also right when he said he would be ready for the playoffs, and boy was Shaq always ready for the playoffs.

O’Neal took it to another level in the playoffs and was easily one of the most unstoppable players in the history of the game when it really mattered. Opponents would rely on “Hack a Shaq” to slow him down but he was able to hit the free throws when it truly mattered.

It is a scary thought to think what Shaq would have been like if he went 100% every single game and was in peak physical condition for his prime Lakers years. While he is considered one of if not the most dominant big man of all time, Shaq had the potential to be the best player in the history of the game if he gave it everything he had.

At the end of the day, Shaq retired with 4 rings and is still considered to be one of the top 10 greatest players to ever play the game.

The Lakers have been incredibly blessed to have these superstars on the team over the course of their history. Each has left a mark on the organization that will always be remembered.

Let’s see what the next generations of Lakers can bring to the table and add to the already mythical lore of the Los Angeles Lakers.

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