During his prime, Shaquille O’Neal was practically an immovable object inside the paint. Worse, opposing teams would be in serious trouble if “The Diesel” was allowed the chance to make his move down low.
Most NBA teams knew that it was next to impossible to put the clamps on Shaq. The LSU product was simply overpowering, especially during the 2000-01 season. The Los Angeles Lakers endured a turbulent regular season and recomposed themselves in time for the playoffs.
That clearly showed with the Purple and Gold easily disposed of the Portland Trail Blazers in three games. The Sacramento Kings hoped to do a better job but had no luck. Most of the defenders thrown at O’Neal, such as Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard, tried but failed.
Divac, a former Laker, was left stumped. He tried every trick he could to frustrate the “Big Aristotle” but admitted it was impossible to slow O’Neal down.
“You can't stop him," the Serbian center said . "He's going to score every time down there.”
Shaq scoffs Kings' defense
Being the behemoth he was, Shaq knew that opposing players would throw in everything they had to stop him. However, as far as the Kings were concerned, the top pick of the 1992 Draft suggested that Sacramento's defensive challenge was either poor or absent.
“They really were not doubling me," O'Neal stated via the New York Times. "So I just tried to take the high-percentage shots. If I get that close to the basket, I'm going to take those shots all night."
The next best thing teams could do at the time was send O’Neal to the free-throw line. The 2000 NBA MVP was known to be a poor free-throw shooter in his career. That season, Shaq was 51.3% from the charity stripe.
After taking Game One of the Western Conference semifinals, the Lakers went on to sweep that series in four games. The winning streak continued in the WC Finals, with LA also blanking the San Antonio Spurs in four games.
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The Lakers had one of the most dominant post-season runs
The Lakers suffered their first loss in the NBA Finals, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game One. In that series, Dikembe Mutombo was tasked to hold down Shaq. The Georgetown product knew he would lose the battle physically against the Lakers center. Hence, the fourth overall pick of the 1991 Draft used his wits to outsmart “The Big Aristotle,” a move that put O’Neal in foul trouble.
In his opinion, O’Neal suggested Mutombo was getting the calls due to flopping . However, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year branded Shaq’s allegations as ridiculous and stressed that flopping was not part of his game.
Regardless, the jawing hardly mattered. After dropping the series opening, the Lakers bounced back by winning the next four games. O’Neal and Kobe Bryant proved too much to handle for Philly, even with Allen Iverson trying hard to carry the 76ers on his shoulders.
Related: Shaq claims NBA Finals are rigged: "I heard Phil Jackson say, 'Give us some hotel in Indiana 'cause that's where going to play'"
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