Listing Shaquille O'Neal's Top 3 finishes in NBA MVP voting
Shaquille O'Neal's unique dominance throughout his NBA career wasn't rewarded in the form of more MVP awards. Not only has he been vocal about not having more than one MVP trophy in his career, Shaq has been right about it.
The center, arguably the most physically dominant player ever seen in the league, won his only MVP award in the 1999-2000 season, his fourth season with the LA Lakers and eighth in the league.
Shaquille O'Neal's Top 3 finishes in the NBA MVP voting, including when he lost to Steve Nash
O'Neal came close to winning other MVP trophies as he racked up eight top-five finishes in the MVP vote. He also finished in the top three five times and 13 times in the top 10.
Here are O'Neal's top three finishes in the MVP voting throughout his 19-year career.
No. 3: 1994-95 season | 2nd
After losing the 1993-94 scoring title when David Robinson scored 71 points in the final day of the regular season, O'Neal returned to win it in 1994-95 with an average of 29.3 points per game.
In only his third season, O'Neal finished second in MVP voting, behind Robinson. O'Neal averaged 11.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game and made 58.3% of his field goals that season for the Orlando Magic.
In the MVP voting, Robinson won the trophy with 73 first-place votes, ahead of O'Neal's 12.
Ultimately, he led the Magic to the 1995 NBA Finals, but Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets won the title after a four-game sweep.
No. 2: 2004-05 season | 2nd
The infamous 2004-05 MVP voting is the one that O'Neal often reminisces about on TNT's "Inside the NBA," as Steve Nash beat him to the MVP award, and Inside's host Ernie Johnson allegedly voted for the Canadian point guard.
O'Neal finished second in the voting in definitely a close call between the big man and the Phoenix Suns guard. Nash totaled 65 first-place votes, while O'Neal had 58.
In the regular season, his first with the Miami Heat, O'Neal averaged 22.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, with a league-high 60.1% from the field. In 73 games, O'Neal's Miami Heat went 53-20 with him on the court.
No. 1: 1999-2000 season | 1st
Shaquille O'Neal won the MVP award in 1999-2000 while also taking home the All-Star Game MVP, NBA title and Finals MVP award. He won the first of his four career titles that year and the first of his three Finals MVP trophies. The other two came in the following two campaigns.
That year, in Phil Jackson's first season as the Lakers coach, O'Neal averaged 29.7 points per game (career and league highs), with 13.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and three blocks per game (in 79 appearances).
The Lakers went 67-15 and grabbed the NBA's best regular-season record. In the 2000 NBA Finals, O'Neal averaged 38 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game as the Kobe Bryant-Shaq Lakers defeated Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers in six games.
Also read: "Heavy is the head that wears the crown" - Shaquille O'Neal on Julius Randle giving thumbs down to New York Knicks fans