National Basketball Association

The 5 most memorable moments from Shaq's Hall of Fame career, ranked

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:08 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Andrew Lynch

With Shaquille O'Neal set to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday night, now seems like the perfect time to relive the most spectacular moments in the big man's dominant NBA career. From showing up Dwight Howard to a play you've seen a million times in Shaq compilations and playoff highlight videos, here are the five most memorable moments from one of the greatest players ever.

Scene: Shaq's running the point. Chris Paul (?!?) is in the post. Dwight Howard is guarding Shaq on the perimeter. He's not watching his five-hole, though, and Shaq nutmegs the impostor Superman on a nifty little give-and-go with CP3. Howard is left shaking his head. End scene.

For his efforts in 2009's All-Star Game, Shaq was named co-MVP alongside Kobe Bryant. It was a nice moment in a back-and-forth relationship — one that stands in stark contrast to ...

I'm not embedding the video here, because this is ostensibly a family site and Shaq's rapped tirade against Kobe from 2008 is anything but family-friendly. On the other hand, though, it's undoubtedly one of the most memorable moments of Shaq's career. You can't tell the story of the Big Aristotle's time in the NBA without referencing his colorful language.

What separated Shaq from other NBA behemoths was his agility. No 7-foot-1, 300-pound man should have been capable of the kind of coast-to-coast drives we saw from Shaq, whether it was during his earlier seasons in Orlando, as in the clip above, or with the Lakers:

LOOK AT HIS TONGUE. HE'S WAGGING HIS TONGUE ON A COAST-TO-COAST DRIVE. Or check out another fancy drive from his Lakers days, complete with an up-and-under layup:

I couldn't pick just one coast-to-coast performance from Shaq, because they're all so incredible. I do not apologize for that.

Shaq had a long and storied history of annihilating backboards and baskets, but nothing tops the time he ripped the entire structure to the ground against the Nets in 1993.

Shaq was a playoff monster throughout his career, and during his run with the Lakers, he was particularly dominant in the Finals. But the singular moment that defines Shaq's career came in the 2000 Western Conference Finals vs. Portland.

You know the play: Kobe lobs it up to Shaq for an alley-oop in the final minute of a ridiculously tight Game 7 to seal the win for the Lakers. It was all the best parts of the big man's career — teaming up with Kobe to form an unstoppable duo that came up big when it mattered most.

Congratulations on a Hall of Fame career, Shaq. We can't wait for your acceptance speech.

share

Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Basketball Association