NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal’s Dominant Career Was About More Than Just Size
NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant players in history. But a lot of particulars went into it.
In a recent episode of Hoops Tonight, Jason Timpf said O’Neal’s combination of size and footwork is what led to his dominant run.
“There’s one other player in NBA history who has won three consecutive NBA Finals MVP awards and that’s Shaquille O’Neal,” Timpf said. “7’1”, was well over 300 pounds, everything that Shaq did came down to footwork. Being big is only half the battle. There are a lot of big human beings in the world but that coordination, especially as it pertains to footwork, is everything because your footwork is what allows you to inflict your physicality on your opponent. His crowning achievement, which was his three-peat in the early 2000s with the Lakers, he averaged 29, 13 and four and three blocks per game over that three-year span. Won MVP in 2000, finished third place in the MVP voting the next two years. Averaged 30, 15 and three in the playoff runs. That Lakers team lost just 13 playoff games in three years. They were 45 and 13 in the playoffs ”
Granted, his prime was with the Los Angeles Lakers but he was able to carry some of it over to the Miami Heat. When playing in Miami, he averaged 19 points, nine rebounds and one block. Many believe he should have won his second MVP in 2005 when he averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Instead, it went to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash.
Along with young star Dwyane Wade, he helped the Heat win their first championship in 2006 against the Dallas Mavericks. Even though Wade won Finals MVP, O’Neal was still productive as he averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Although his career started to decline as he got older, his dominant run is always respected.
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Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog HERE.
