Los Angeles Lakers: 30 greatest individual performances in team history: 22. Shaquille O’Neal does it all
Sometimes, when you read off the stat line of Shaquille O’Neal, it almost doesn’t make any sense.
This was one of those times.
Everything was going right for O’Neal during a March game against the Washington Wizards. With everyone essentially half his size, more or less, O’Neal was able to punish them for 40 points and 17 rebounds. The Laker big man was never known as a selfish player and proved that by racking up 8 assists. With Phil Jackson as his head coach, there was simply no way Shaq wasn’t going to pay attention to the defensive side of the ball. Even Phil couldn’t complain as Shaq got three steals and five blocks as well.
Under normal circumstances, fouling Shaq was the best way to stop the bleeding but it was clear that he was working on it before the game. While he may have gone to the line 13 times, he knocked down 10 of them. As usual, he was highly efficient from the field, making 15 of 25. Good luck trying to stop him if he was making everything from the field and hitting his free throws as well.