Lakers: Shaquille O’Neal Reveals the Disappointing Reason Why the Magic Lost Him to LA
It's not lost on basketball fans how big of a deal it was that Shaq ended up with the Lakers back in 1996. Coming off of four very good years playing in Orlando, the big man was a really big deal on the free-agent market. With the Summer Olympics also the front of everyone's minds, he was a busy guy for those couple of months.
But the process by which Shaq ended up with the Lakers ultimately came down to money. And according to him, the Magic did not think that he was worth the money that everyone else did.
O'Neal talked on a podcast about the $80 million reportedly offered to him by the Magic. According to him, he did not think that was nearly enough money, and he revealed the details of that conversation.
“I said listen, if a BMW cost $115,000, how much do you think this is gonna cost? That’s all I said. So then they were like no we’re not gonna do it. And then I was at a strip club, Manchester City. My former agent Leonard Armato called me, had one of those big dope man phones, and said ‘you need to come see me now, I got what you want’. So when I get there, open the door, it’s the great Jerry Buss.”
Obviously, the Magic made a mistake. Shaq went on to sign a massive seven-year deal worth north of $121 million to play for the Lakers. What followed was three-consecutive NBA titles with Los Angeles from 2000 to 2003. He would also go on to a total of 15 All-Star teams, another title with the Heat, and a whole lot of points.
But those three titles with the Lakers were huge. They all came playing besides Kobe Bryant, forming one of the most iconic duos in NBA history. Talk about a big swing-and-a-miss for the Magic.
