Shaquille O’Neal Explains Why Iconic Alley-Oop Dunk From Kobe Bryant Almost Went Awry

The Los Angeles Lakers treated their fans to three consecutive championships from 2000 through ’02, but it’s easy to forget that the team’s three-peat almost was derailed before it started.

Indeed, the Lakers famously had to overcome a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals.

One particular play punctuated that Lakers victory, as Kobe Bryant drove into the lane to draw the Blazers defense and then lobbed a pass above the cylinder to Shaquille O’Neal, who finished the play with a thunderous dunk in the final minute.

The resulting highlight made NBA history.

Now, O’Neal has revealed that the legendary play almost went sideways.

“He threw the motherf----- up too high,” O’Neal explained with a smile on Friday’s episode of the From the Point podcast with Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young. “He threw it up too high. But I’m stopping time. If I miss this, and we lose, it’s going to be my fault. F— that. Go get that motherf-----. … Caught that motherf-----, threw it down. This game over.”

O’Neal’s dunk and subsequent reaction are the stuff of legend, but it’s wild to hear him explain how the iconic play almost went awry.

After ousting the Blazers, the Lakers went on to beat the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals in six games.