Shaquille O’Neal was at his peak in 2000, the same year he bagged regular season MVP honors. But for “The Diesel,” winning his first NBA title mattered the most.
The Lakers battled the Indiana Pacers in six games in a grueling final. Indiana opted to send “Big Diesel” to the charity stripe rather than give him an easy two. O’Neal converted only 3 of his 12 free throw attempts, a performance that even he dreaded despite finishing with a game-high 41 points.
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“It was the ugliest 41 I ever got,” O’neal said via the Washington Post. “It was just a great, great moment.”
The Pacers had no answer for Shaq
The bulk of O’Neal’s points came from the field. He made 19 of his 32 field goal attempts, which made up for his atrocious free throw shooting. Had he converted all his freebies, he could have ended with 50 points.
Reggie Miller admitted they had no answer to stop the LSU product at the time. This was why the Pacers resorted to the Hack-A-Shaq strategy, preferring to send O’Neal to the line since he was a poor free-throw shooter.
“We have no answer for Shaq. We’re not gonna have any answer in this series. What we’re gonna do…. we’re just gonna Hack-A-Shaq, and he’s gonna have to make free throws,” Uncle Reg confessed on the “Dan Patrick Show.”
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But even the Hack-A-Shaq strategy was not enough to stop “The Diesel” and the Lakers. He still bullied his way inside to win his first NBA championship. It was also the first for the Lakers since 1988, the club’s 12th overall. O’Neal would eventually win Finals MVP honors for his dominant showing.
O’Neal was not the only factor in the 2000 title run
Although he was having an MVP season and averaged 38.0 points and 16.7 rebounds in the final, O’Neal didn’t do it all by himself. Kobe Bryant also played a key role, stepping up at the right moments.
In Game 6, Bryant finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds. His performance that season proved that he was an extraordinary player, and his future looked bright.
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“Shaq’s been great for us all season,” Bryant said. “I just want to enjoy this first championship before thinking about the future.”
Glen Rice was the only other Laker to finish in double-digit scoring in Game 6 with 16. Considering the Pacers had five players scoring 10 or more points, LA was fortunate that the trio’s efforts were enough to win Game 6 and the series.
He promised more titles
The first one is always the sweetest, but O’Neal was far from content. In the 2000 offseason, he vowed to deliver more championships for the Purple and Gold for as long as he was with the team.
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“I look forward to ending my career as a Laker. Having one championship is like having one car — it’s not enough for me. Last year was a start for us; hopefully, we can keep going,” Shaq promised.
The All-Star center kept his promise, and he and Kobe delivered the 2001 NBA championship as well. Both completed a rare three-peat after winning the 2000 title, an achievement that Bryant said was a huge step toward greatness.
“The first one will always be the best one. The second one, the adversity that we went through throughout the course of the year, made that one special. We proved that we belonged,” Bryant said on winning the 2002 title. “This one, it’s kind of making a step as one of the great teams,” he added.
Unfortunately, a feud between Shaq and Kobe got out of control, and the Lakers never won a title again with the dynamic duo. The bickering had been going on since they won the 2000 championship.
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O’Neal was traded in 2004, while Kobe re-signed with the Purple and Gold. Bryant was the new top dog, and he eventually showed that he, too, could deliver a championship to LA, winning the 2009 and 2010 crowns.