(Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most historic teams in the NBA.
Not only do they have a rich history of winning, but they’ve had some of the best players in league history suit up for the organization.
One of their best players in recent history was Shaquille O’Neal, who helped the team win three straight championships from 2000-2002.
While O’Neal is commonly regarded as one of the best big men in NBA history, he recently made a stunning statement, as shared by NBA Central on Twitter.
In an NBA Finals pregame conversation, O’Neal said, “In my Lakers runs, I wasn’t the best player on the team.”
“In my Lakers’ runs, I wasn’t the best player on the team.”
– Shaq
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 9, 2024
Despite his dominance and career accolades, O’Neal didn’t give himself much credit for his role on those teams.
He did have the pleasure of playing with Kobe Bryant during those seasons, who was the flashy star of the show.
Bryant and O’Neal looked like an unstoppable duo, and after their three-peat, it seemed like they were destined to stick together for the foreseeable future.
However, after some rocky times between them, O’Neal ended up leaving for the Miami Heat.
Winning these championships wasn’t enough to keep them together, but, as we now know, O’Neal’s successful career continued after he departed the Lakers.
Fans are left wondering what could have been, especially if this pair stuck together throughout their respective careers.
O’Neal and Bryant later became good friends despite their differences earlier in their careers, and it appears that O’Neal had nothing but respect for Bryant’s game.
The post Shaq Has An Honest Admission About His Time With Lakers appeared first on The Cold Wire.