True Lakers Fans

To me Shaq is the 2nd greatest Center I have ever seen live (Cap is #1). In the history of the game he is in the Top 4 with Cap, Wilt, and Russell. I rank Shaq slightly ahead of Hakeem. Shaq considers Duncan a PF when asked about how he and Duncan rank compared to one another so I left Duncan off the Centers list. Anyway Shaq brought the Lakers many great moments with being a huge part of a 3Peat and being only 1 of 2 players in NBA history to win 3 Finals MVP's in a row 2000-2002 (Jordan was the other).

Kobe Bryant went on Instagram and Posted that Shaq is the most dominant big man of all-time! if you disagree with him you get that look . There are only a handful of players I have seen live that would put the fear of God into an opponent and Shaq was one of them. Jordan, Magic, Cap, Kobe, LeBron, Bird, Timmy, Shaq, and Hakeem just had that fear factor to me! I felt like when watching those players that their teams always had a chance to win! Before my time I know Wilt and Russell were scary to go against. Wilt just because of his stature, Russell because he always won!

Simply put, he had his best years in P&G - which is a credit to West and Phil for knowing what a force he would be when surrounded by the right players and tutored by the right coach. I will always regard the '99 season and the emergence of Tim Duncan as the #1 reason Shaq came back and enforced his Big Fundamentals on the league. His technique, his ball-handling, his footwork, his I.Q., his focus and his versatility all went up a notch for the next 3 years and along with Kobe, Fish, Horry and the slew of clutch role players he had around him, domination was inevitable.

He still almost got punked by Sabonis, though. It took an iconic alley-oop play via Kobe (against one of the best defenders in modern history, Pippen) to get him to the big stage. Kobe did what Penny couldn't, and I think Mamba will never get the credit he deserves.

lakerevolution wrote:Simply put, he had his best years in P&G - which is a credit to West and Phil for knowing what a force he would be when surrounded by the right players and tutored by the right coach. I will always regard the '99 season and the emergence of Tim Duncan as the #1 reason Shaq came back and enforced his Big Fundamentals on the league. His technique, his ball-handling, his footwork, his I.Q., his focus and his versatility all went up a notch for the next 3 years and along with Kobe, Fish, Horry and the slew of clutch role players he had around him, domination was inevitable.

He still almost got punked by Sabonis, though. It took an iconic alley-oop play via Kobe (against one of the best defenders in modern history, Pippen) to get him to the big stage. Kobe did what Penny couldn't, and I think Mamba will never get the credit he deserves.

Sometimes it takes another Great player to keep a player motivated. Duncan was the guy for Shaq. Shaq always wanted to out do him, win more Championships, etc.. Similar to Magic/Bird. The problem with Shaq was after he won his 4th Title in 2006 his health didn't hold up - bad knees, back, etc.. Duncan was able to win a 5th one late in his career.

Fuck the Big Minimum.

Shaq acceptance speech into The Hall Of Fame was classic Shaq

Shaq was one of the greatest ever no doubt.

Perhaps he could have had MORE dedication to FTs, fitness and finesse he would be the GOAT.


Still unbelievable the years he and Kobe were both in their primes. But 2000, right before Kobe's prime, Shaq was the unquestioned Superman.


Mikan era.
West/Baylor era.
West/Wilt/Goodrich era.
Kareem/Magic era
" "Worthy era.
Shaq/Kobe era.
Kobe/Pau era

Kinda unfair when you look at that lineup.

Will Russell, Clarkson, Ingram, Randle, Nance, Zubac be mentioned in the breath of those guys?

That's a LOT to ask realistically.
But as of today it's not out the realm of possibility.

It won't be this year. Unlike Kobe and Magic, Russell wasn't blessed with an all time great big man in his prime.

In terms of Shaq, let's hope Randle can add a bit more Shaq to his game.

Sometimes, strength is the best advantage and his quickness can be his secondary weapon

Julius Russell wrote:Shaq was one of the greatest ever no doubt.

Perhaps he could have had MORE dedication to FTs, fitness and finesse he would be the GOAT.


Still unbelievable the years he and Kobe were both in their primes. But 2000, right before Kobe's prime, Shaq was the unquestioned Superman.


Mikan era.
West/Baylor era.
West/Wilt/Goodrich era.
Kareem/Magic era
" "Worthy era.
Shaq/Kobe era.
Kobe/Pau era

Kinda unfair when you look at that lineup.

Will Russell, Clarkson, Ingram, Randle, Nance, Zubac be mentioned in the breath of those guys?

That's a LOT to ask realistically.
But as of today it's not out the realm of possibility.

It won't be this year. Unlike Kobe and Magic, Russell wasn't blessed with an all time great big man in his prime.

In terms of Shaq, let's hope Randle can add a bit more Shaq to his game.

Sometimes, strength is the best advantage and his quickness can be his secondary weapon

Yeah those names you reeled off are gigantic footsteps to fill! To me Magic and Kobe are the 2 faces of the franchise, they both had a different style of play and both won 5 Championships. Then you have Kareem and Shaq their big men. There are no big men even close to being as great as those 2 in today's league. A. Davis and D. Cousins aren't near as great as those 2 and they are the best IMO. Regarding Shaq nothing pisses me off more than a Laker fan dissing Shaq just because perhaps they love Kobe and that is the reasoning. There would've been no 3Peat without Shaq, Kobe didn't really great until 2001 and we didn't have anyone close to Pau Gasol if you take Shaq off the team. I love Shaq, he is the only Laker to win 3 NBA Finals in a row - that alone puts him in the discussion as best Laker ever. I think Magic is #1 and Kobe #2, Kareem would get my nod at #3 but when it comes to #4 Shaq has a legit argument to be in that spot! He won more Championships than West, Baylor, and Wilt combined in a Lakers uniform. Those players combined only won 2, 3 if you count Baylor in 1972 but he didn't play most of the season.

By the way my list would go like this for greatest Lakers:
1. Magic
2. Kobe
3. Kareem
4. Logo - When you combine his play and GM time he has to be 4th. Glad he finally won a Championship in 1972.
5. Baylor - Yes he makes my Top 5. I know Tate will love me for that! He played his entire career with LA and put up huge stats.
6. George Mikan - He won 5 Championships, it was Minneapolis but still the Lakers.
7. Shaq belongs here in reality regarding a greatest Laker list. 3 Championships in a Lakers uni/3 straight Finals MVP's!
8. Wilt Chamberlain - Helped Logo finally win 1, he won Finals MVP in 1972 as well. Most dominant big man ever!
9. James Worthy
10. Pau Gasol
-Pau makes my Top 10 so now Tate probably hates me after reading this I almost listed Chick Hearn here actually and thought about Riles or Phil but Pau was huge in helping getting Kobe's last 2 Championships so I went all players. Kobe's legacy got boosted tremendously after he won without Shaq. Without Pau we wouldn't of won it all though in 2009 or 2010, some people can tell themselves we would've but we wouldn't of. Bynum was too injury prone and Lamar was never a Robin/#2.