NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is a four-time champion, but he believes that he should have won even more during his career.
O’Neal explained during a podcast appearance why he “should have eight rings.”
“When you talk about great players, I had the opportunity to play with Bron (LeBron James), too,” O’Neal said. “I was so amazed at his leadership and how he played. When I was with him, I wasn’t the Shaq, but I was a good role player. We were first in our conference, played Boston, Big Baby (Glen Davis) broke my hand, I had to leave for six weeks. I tried to come back, but I wasn’t there, and we lost to Boston. These are things I think about when it comes to rings. I should have eight rings, and I’m not talking about free throws. I’m just talking about messed up opportunities.”
O’Neal won his first three titles during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers and legendary guard Kobe Bryant.
He won the Finals MVP award in each of those series, but the Lakers weren’t the first good team he played with.
Earlier in his career, O’Neal played with guys like Penny Hardaway and Horace Grant on the Orlando Magic, and the franchise knocked out the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs in the 1994-95 season after Michael Jordan returned from a hiatus where he spent time playing baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization. The Magic reached the NBA Finals in those playoffs.
While that Orlando team never went on to win a title, it started a chain of O’Neal playing with some pretty impressive players.
After his stint with the Lakers playing alongside Bryant, O’Neal went to Miami and played alongside Dwyane Wade.
With Wade, O’Neal and the Miami Heat won the 2006 NBA Finals over the Dallas Mavericks. Wade won the Finals MVP in that series, but O’Neal was still an impactful player, averaging 13.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in the series.
The 15-time All-Star didn’t end up winning another title during his NBA career, but he played with Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire on the Phoenix Suns, James on the Cleveland Cavaliers, then Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo on the Boston Celtics to close out his NBA career.
It just goes to show that more than talent is needed to win a title. Injuries, matchups and much more certainly factor into whether or not a team can capture a championship – as O’Neal would know from the four times he was able to win.
