Shaquille O'Neal thinks he could have won more NBA championships than the 4 he already has. Speaking to Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller on the OGs Podcast , Shaq noted that he could have won a title with LeBron James on the Cavaliers, before breaking down how many titles he could have won in each stint of his career.
"Bron was a guy I never had to say anything to. I was so amazed at his leadership and how he played. When I was with him, I wasn't Shaq but I was a good role player and we were first in that conference. Played Boston, and Big Baby [Glen Davis] broke my hand. I gotta leave for six weeks. I tried to come back, I wasn't there, we lose to Boston."
"These are the things I think about when it comes to rings, I should have 8 rings. I'm talking about messed-up opportunities. We (Heat) should have had two... I should have gotten 1 or 2 with Penny [Hardaway]. Me and Kobe lost to Detroit, should have got that one."
"Our (Heat) first year, we lost to Detroit, should've gotten that one. Then I played with LeBron, should've gotten that one. And when I was with Boston, we could have got one too. If everything went perfect, I could have had 8 or 9 rings right now, like Robert Horry."
(50:48 Onwards)
O'Neal does seem to make quite a bold assessment of his time in the NBA with different teams. There's no denying the greatness of Shaq, and just how dominant he was. But what he is describing above is a personal dynasty akin to the Boston Celtics in the 1960s, and that is something that just isn't possible in the NBA.
Could Shaq Really Have Won 8 Or 9 Championships?
Taking Shaquille O'Neal's comments at face value, let's try to analyze how much truth there is in his statement. First off, his time with the Orlando Magic . Shaq and Penny Hardaway were a sensational duo together and did lead the Magic to the NBA Finals.
Unfortunately for them, they ran into Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan in back-to-back years, which kept them from winning a championship. Considering the dominance of both Jordan and Hakeem, Shaq and Penny could have won one more championship together at most, bringing Shaq's hypothetical tally up to 5.
Then on the Lakers , he is right about him and Kobe failing to win against the Pistons. The Lakers had arguably their strongest roster, with veterans like Gary Payton and Karl Malone providing some valuable minutes. But off-the-court minutes prevented Shaq from getting another chip. If we count this as winnable, the hypothetical tally is at 6.
With the Heat , O'Neal and Dwyane Wade reached the Eastern Conference Finals but lost out to the Detroit Pistons. Both Shaq and Dwyane Wade were injured. Perhaps without injuries, they could have usurped the reigning champs, but would they have had the chemistry to do so? That can be argued, but let's give this one to Shaq, bumping his tally to 7.
There was no way Shaq was going to win a championship when playing with LeBron James on the Cavaliers . No disrespect to either player, but Shaq was a shell of himself, and LeBron didn't have any other player to rely on. Furthermore, the East still had the Celtics, who were still in control of the conference at the time.
And lastly, with the Celtics . Shaq wouldn't have boosted the Celtics' chances by much in 2011, as they still would have to face the Miami Heat with LeBron, Wade, and Chris Bosh, and they were not going to be able to defeat that roster of stars in their prime.
So at best, Shaquille O'Neal could have won 7 championships in his career rather than the 4 he has. But Shaq should still be proud of the 4 he won, as he was the most dominant player in the league during those championship wins, and no one came close to stopping him.
Related: Shaquille O'Neal Explains Why He Took A Pay Cut With The Heat In 2005
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