Shaquille O'Neal on how he would have guarded himself in 2000: "I'd just fake an injury and go home"
Only a few legends can challenge Shaquille O'Neal for the title of the most dominant player in NBA history. From the 1999-00 to 2001-02 seasons, he had arguably the best three-year stretch of his career. Leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship three-peat, no opponents were able to contain the "Big Aristotle" at that point.
In his autobiography, "Shaq Uncut: My Story," the legendary big man recalled being asked how he would guard himself after bullying the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the 2000 Finals to the tune of 43 points and 19 rebounds.
"I wouldn't. I'd just fake an injury and go home," O'Neal wrote.
Shaq was terrorizing the Pacers
What perturbed the 2000 NBA MVP was that Pacers coach Larry Bird opted to employ single coverage on him. To be fair to "Larry Legend," he had a big body in Rik Smits, whom Shaq even once shared as one of the four players he feared. In addition to the 7'4" Dutchman, the Pacers also had Dale Davis and Sam Perkins, who could share the responsibility of trying to limit O'Neal's production.
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The tactic somewhat worked because Indiana managed to extend the series to six games, winning Games 3 and 5 by nine and 33 points, respectively. In comparison, the Lakers clinched the 2001 title against the Philadelphia 76ers in five games and swept the New Jersey Nets in the championship round the following year.
Still, O'Neal made the Pacers pay by recording 38.0 and 16.7 rebounds per contest in the series on a 61.6% shooting clip.
Shaq's struggles with injuries
It's just ironic that the 15-time All-Star joked that he would fake an injury to avoid a matchup with himself if he were another player when injuries and poor conditioning were his decline later in his career.
After securing a third consecutive championship with Los Angeles in 2002, O'Neal underwent surgery to correct a toe injury that he had been treating with medication. The only problem was that it took him a few months into the offseason to arrive at his decision, which meant that his recovery and rehabilitation crept into the beginning of the regular season.
The Lakers started the 2002-03 campaign with an 11-19 record and never recovered. It seemed Shaq also didn't make enough effort to get into shape, which earned the ire of Kobe Bryant. The tension between the two continued the next summer.
When he was shipped to the Miami Heat in 2004, O'Neal had no choice but to finally take care of his fitness, as it was company policy. While he somehow met Pat Riley's expectations, the 14-time All-NBA selection unfortunately suffered various injuries over the following years. He still won a fourth ring in 2006, but at that time, it was Dwyane Wade who became unstoppable in the Finals.
