Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 1:01 pm Post subject: Shaquille O'Neal Hall of Fame Appreciation thread
Looking back at Shaquille O'Neal's Hall of Fame journey
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Shaquille O'Neal will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday after a career that saw him make six different NBA stops -- resulting in a multitude of different looks for the player who had almost as many self-applied nicknames.
On the cusp of Shaquille O’Neal’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski goes inside the aura, persona and legacy of one of the most dominant superstars in NBA history. For all of Shaq’s flaws, there’s no mistaking the truth: He was bigger than life, and there will never be another like him.
On the cusp of Shaquille O’Neal’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski goes inside the aura, persona and legacy of one of the most dominant superstars in NBA history. For all of Shaq’s flaws, there’s no mistaking the truth: He was bigger than life, and there will never be another like him.
I have no respect or regard for Wojnarowski, and his work in this area is grudge-fueled garbage anyway. That said, Shaq was the driving force behind our only threepeat since arriving in Los Angeles. And for that, he'll always be a Lakers great in my book.
When Shaq left Orlando and came to LA, that was a news event. I knew Jerry West was angling, but that was arguably the greatest get of all time. I have no idea what Orlando was thinking to try and go at less than max but West was already in position to pounce and it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway...he was coming.
He had that one first season under Phil Jackson that honestly was one of the greatest seasons in NBA history. An absolute beast, just didn't sustain the max level long enough to be perhaps best of all time at Center. _________________ Love, Laker Lanny
When Shaq left Orlando and came to LA, that was a news event. I knew Jerry West was angling, but that was arguably the greatest get of all time. I have no idea what Orlando was thinking to try and go at less than max but West was already in position to pounce and it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway...he was coming.
He had that one first season under Phil Jackson that honestly was one of the greatest seasons in NBA history. An absolute beast, just didn't sustain the max level long enough to be perhaps best of all time at Center.
Teams have signed three free agents who became MVP for them -- Shaq, Moses Malone, and Nash.
Teams have traded for three guys who became MVP for them -- Lebron, Kareem, Barkley
Four Legends To Introduce Shaq At Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony
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O’Neal told The Vertical that he has chosen four Hall of Famers – Isiah Thomas, Julius Erving, Bill Russell and Alonzo Mourning – to present him in Friday’s ceremony.
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144432 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2016 9:58 am Post subject:
Shaq was the most unstoppable force that I have ever seen. He was the one guy that no matter what you did to try to stop him, it failed. _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
Always appreciated the Diesel. Hated the way he went out but loved what he contributed to our team. You also can't overlook the entertainment value that he brought to the game, definitely a pioneer in every sense. Very well deserved .
On the cusp of Shaquille O’Neal’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski goes inside the aura, persona and legacy of one of the most dominant superstars in NBA history. For all of Shaq’s flaws, there’s no mistaking the truth: He was bigger than life, and there will never be another like him.
I have no respect or regard for Wojnarowski, and his work in this area is grudge-fueled garbage anyway. That said, Shaq was the driving force behind our only threepeat since arriving in Los Angeles. And for that, he'll always be a Lakers great in my book.
Shaquille O'Neal says current Lakers will be exciting but won't contend for a while
At the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Lakers historical supremacy is on full display. From one era, there are tributes to Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor; from another, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
On Friday, the fraternity of Hall of Fame Lakers will grow by one, when Shaquille O’Neal is officially enshrined. It’s an occasion for fans to celebrate once again a time when the Lakers ruled the NBA.
Days that O’Neal doesn’t expect to return any time soon, with a new coach and a roster full of inexperienced players.
“They’re definitely going to be exciting,” O’Neal said during a Hall of Fame news conference Thursday, “but I don’t see them being a contender for a while. I mean, they’ve still got to go up against Golden State in the West, they’ve got to go up against OKC, still got to go up against Cleveland, the Rockets. So they have a long way to go to be a contender.
Kobe Bryant congratulates Shaquille O’Neal on his Hall of Fame enshrinement
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aquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant may have (in)famously not gotten along during large portions of the time they were both with the Los Angeles Lakers, but the two seem to have mostly patched things up since then.
Shaq was at Kobe’s final game, encouraging his former teammate while he dropped 60 points on the Utah Jazz. Bryant returned the love on Friday when he took to Instagram to congratulate O’Neal on his enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame tomorrow and call him the “most dominant big of all time”
In his youth, prime, early post-prime, he turned 3 franchises into legit title contenders practically by himself, including an expansion team that was a dog with fleas before he got there. He said on TNT that he would rather be thought of as dominant rather than as talented, and his career track proves he's not too far from the truth. However, he was a lot more talented than given credit for. It just was blurred by the monstrous size and power, of a level we will never see again at the 5, no way. You compare him against Duh-Wight Howard and the talent suddenly becomes very obvious. Shaq could catch the ball and dribble it at least once without losing it before putting it in the hoop. In 2000, he had a plethora of dropstep/bankers and the range on his jumphook inched out to the FT line and his baseline/turnaround was very effective. Chick/Stu would remark about his finesse(!!!) that year all the time.
Yeah, his relationship with Kobe for stretches of times truly sucked (and I blame Kobe for his end, too), but they wound up being this bizarro duo, being the best player each other ever played with and the one they won the most with. It's good to see they seem to be cool these days at least. At any rate, they're going to be our last two guys to go into the Hall reppin Lakas any time soon, so we'd better appreciate this while we can, even if you aren't a big fan of Shaq's.
I think Shaq is every bit as physically unique as Magic and Barkley. Just because Shaq is 7 feet, it's not as blatant. It's not the height, it's the proportioned weight and natural strength without eating salads and chicken sans skin like Robinson. His body type was freak of nature material AND....to be as healthy as he was was probably an effin miracle. Detractors harp on his injuries. Shaq was actually very dependable. He rarely, rarely missed playoff games. He was there when it counted as he himself would say. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
In his youth, prime, early post-prime, he turned 3 franchises into legit title contenders practically by himself, including an expansion team that was a dog with fleas before he got there. He said on TNT that he would rather be thought of as dominant rather than as talented, and his career track proves he's not too far from the truth. However, he was a lot more talented than given credit for. It just was blurred by the monstrous size and power, of a level we will never see again at the 5, no way. You compare him against Duh-Wight Howard and the talent suddenly becomes very obvious. Shaq could catch the ball and dribble it at least once without losing it before putting it in the hoop. In 2000, he had a plethora of dropstep/bankers and the range on his jumphook inched out to the FT line and his baseline/turnaround was very effective. Chick/Stu would remark about his finesse(!!!) that year all the time.
Yeah, his relationship with Kobe for stretches of times truly sucked (and I blame Kobe for his end, too), but they wound up being this bizarro duo, being the best player each other ever played with and the one they won the most with. It's good to see they seem to be cool these days at least. At any rate, they're going to be our last two guys to go into the Hall reppin Lakas any time soon, so we'd better appreciate this while we can, even if you aren't a big fan of Shaq's.
I think Shaq is every bit as physically unique as Magic and Barkley. Just because Shaq is 7 feet, it's not as blatant. It's not the height, it's the proportioned weight and natural strength without eating salads and chicken sans skin like Robinson. His body type was freak of nature material AND....to be as healthy as he was was probably an effin miracle. Detractors harp on his injuries. Shaq was actually very dependable. He rarely, rarely missed playoff games. He was there when it counted as he himself would say.
I agree that people underestimate how skilled and nifty Shaq was. And for all the talk of injuries, he did play 1207 games and 42,000 minutes. It's not like he was Bill Walton
In his youth, prime, early post-prime, he turned 3 franchises into legit title contenders practically by himself, including an expansion team that was a dog with fleas before he got there. He said on TNT that he would rather be thought of as dominant rather than as talented, and his career track proves he's not too far from the truth. However, he was a lot more talented than given credit for. It just was blurred by the monstrous size and power, of a level we will never see again at the 5, no way. You compare him against Duh-Wight Howard and the talent suddenly becomes very obvious. Shaq could catch the ball and dribble it at least once without losing it before putting it in the hoop. In 2000, he had a plethora of dropstep/bankers and the range on his jumphook inched out to the FT line and his baseline/turnaround was very effective. Chick/Stu would remark about his finesse(!!!) that year all the time.
Yeah, his relationship with Kobe for stretches of times truly sucked (and I blame Kobe for his end, too), but they wound up being this bizarro duo, being the best player each other ever played with and the one they won the most with. It's good to see they seem to be cool these days at least. At any rate, they're going to be our last two guys to go into the Hall reppin Lakas any time soon, so we'd better appreciate this while we can, even if you aren't a big fan of Shaq's.
I think Shaq is every bit as physically unique as Magic and Barkley. Just because Shaq is 7 feet, it's not as blatant. It's not the height, it's the proportioned weight and natural strength without eating salads and chicken sans skin like Robinson. His body type was freak of nature material AND....to be as healthy as he was was probably an effin miracle. Detractors harp on his injuries. Shaq was actually very dependable. He rarely, rarely missed playoff games. He was there when it counted as he himself would say.
Couldn't possibly agree more ... excellent summary.
When Shaq left Orlando and came to LA, that was a news event. I knew Jerry West was angling, but that was arguably the greatest get of all time. I have no idea what Orlando was thinking to try and go at less than max but West was already in position to pounce and it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway...he was coming.
He had that one first season under Phil Jackson that honestly was one of the greatest seasons in NBA history. An absolute beast, just didn't sustain the max level long enough to be perhaps best of all time at Center.
Teams have signed three free agents who became MVP for them -- Shaq, Moses Malone, and Nash.
Teams have traded for three guys who became MVP for them -- Lebron, Kareem, Barkley
And one guy was purchased for cash -- Dr. J
Add Kobe to teams have traded for guys who became MVP for them
Phil Jackson Pleased Shaquille O’Neal Enters Hall Of Fame ‘As A Laker’
By Eric Avakian
O’Neal’s true dominance in the NBA was characterized by his time with the Lakers. During that five-season span, he averaged an incredible 27 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. Not only did he capture his lone league MVP, but he also collected the majority of his hardware during his tenure with the Lakers.
The franchise honored him with a jersey retirement ceremony during the 2012-13 season and is set to unveil O’Neal’s statue outside of Staples Center in the near future.
While many may debate which team O’Neal had a bigger impact on, there is no comparison to what he did for the Lakers franchise and the city of Los Angeles.
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