NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of The 1990s
By Phil Watson
50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s — 9. Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal was the first overall pick by the Orlando Magic out of LSU in the 1992 NBA Draft and all he did was put a fourth-year expansion franchise on the national radar.
O’Neal was the Rookie of the Year in 1992-93 and a four-time All-Star in Orlando, earning All-NBA honors three times. He was second in the MVP voting in 1994-95 and fourth in 1993-94, as well.
He also led the NBA in total points (2,315) and scoring average (29.3) in 1994-95 and in field-goal percentage in 1993-94 (.599).
In 1995, O’Neal helped the Magic to their first NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Houston Rockets. In the series, he averaged 28 points, 12.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.5 blocks per game on .595/—/.571 shooting.
Limited to 54 games by injuries in 1995-96, O’Neal left Orlando and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent in July 1996.
In four seasons with the Magic, O’Neal averaged 27.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 2.4 assists in 37.8 minutes per game, shooting .581/1-for-11/.546.
With the Lakers in the 1990s, O’Neal was a three-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA pick, finishing fourth in the MVP voting in 1997-98.
He led the NBA in total points (1,289) in 1998-99 and in field-goal percentage in 1997-98 (.584) and 1998-99 (.576).
In three seasons with the Lakers in the decade, O’Neal averaged 27 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 blocks in 36.4 minutes per game, shooting .573/0-for-5/.519.
He won MVP honors in 1999-2000 and three Finals MVP awards as the Lakers won titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
But in July 2004, O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, a first-round pick in 2006 and a 2007 second-rounder.
He won another ring in Miami in 2006 before he was traded in February 2008 to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.
In June 2009, O’Neal was on the move again, traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace and a second-round pick in 2010.
In August 2010, he signed with the Boston Celtics as a free agent and retired after he was waived in June 2011.
In the 1990s, O’Neal was 19th with 12,343 points, 17th with 5,537 rebounds, seventh with 1,197 blocked shots, third with an average of 27.1 points per game and a field-goal percentage of .578 and second with an average of 12.2 rebounds per game.
He is 35th in NBA history with 1,207 games, 22nd with 41,918 minutes played, 14th with 13,099 rebounds, eighth with 2,732 blocked shots, sixth with 28,596 points, third with a field-goal percentage of .582, 20th with an average of 23.7 points per game, 28th with an average of 10.9 rebounds per game and 15th with an average of 2.3 blocks per game.
O’Neal was also named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1997.