Lakers: Shaquille O'Neal Says He Was Bored During One Particular NBA Finals

Shaquille O'Neal won three NBA championships as a Laker, and took home three NBA finals MVP's. He was a 7'1 monster of a center who was once described as "a man the size of your full refrigerator but more mobile and stronger than you are."

After winning two straight NBA championships, the 2002 NBA finals were a matchup of the Lakers and the New Jersey Nets. The 2002 Nets were lead by Jason Kidd, Kerry Kittles, and Kenyon Martin, although they were more of a 'win by committee' team overall.

The Lakers swept the series, completely dominating the Nets at every turn. On "Scoop B Radio," a podcast hosted by Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, O'Neal confessed this series was so easy, he was "bored."

Shaq on playing Nets in ‘02 Finals: “It was boring.”

I actually got mad when we were playing in Jersey. You think Todd McCollough is going to stop me at the crib in Jersey in front of my grandma and grandpa?….Sheeeeeit! No. Stop it.”

- Via Scoop B Radio pic.twitter.com/E3a7rhqSMA
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) September 17, 2021

For context, let's break this down. Todd MacCulloch was the center for the New Jersey Nets in that series. O'Neal absolutely had his way in that series, and poor MacCulloch absolutely had his work cut out for him that series.

O'Neal was born in Newark and at the time had a lot of family living there, including his grandparents, which is what the rest of the tweet was referring to. Throwing poor Todd MacCulloch under the bus here is a little mean, but O'Neal is not lying. For the series, O'Neal averaged 36.3 PPG, 12.3 RPG, and 2.8 blocks. That is a monster series. He even shot 66% from the free-throw line.

O'Neal famously had moments where his motivation was in need of inspiration, but by the numbers in the 2002 NBA finals, it didn't really matter.

The big man was that dominant. See for yourself.