5 crazy stats from Shaquille O'Neal's landmark 1999-00 NBA season
Shaquille O'Neal has established himself as one of the most dominant forces in the NBA and you can point to the 1999-00 season as his best year in the league.
At that time, Shaq won his first NBA championship along with Kobe Bryant and coach Phil Jackson. It was the first title from their three-peat run and since then, no other NBA team has ever won three consecutive titles.
Here are some amazing stats that Shaquille O'Neal had during the 1999-00 season.
#5 Shaquille O'Neal tallied over 60 points and 20 rebounds in a single game on his birthday
The NBA career-high in points in a single game of Shaq's career happened during his birthday on March 6, 2020. It was against the LA Clippers when he dropped 61 points and 23 rebounds.
During that time, he joined Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor as the only players in the league to accomplish 60 points and 20 rebounds in just one game. More so, no other player in the NBA has accomplished that feat since Shaquille O'Neal did it in 2000.
#4 Most free throw attempts with none made
If there are some highlights, there are also some lowlights. During the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Seattle Supersonics, Shaq made an infamous record of shooting 11 straight missed free throws.
Even with that, O'Neal was able to finish the game with 26 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and five blocks. But the missed free throws were just too much as the Lakers lost to the Sonics, 103-95.
#3 Shaquille O'Neal dominating the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers
The NBA Finals was the biggest stage for Shaq to show his power and attain legendary status. The Indiana Pacers just had no answer for O'Neal who led the team with 38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.
The defenders of the Pacers during that series were not bad at all. They had 7-foot-4 Rik Smits, Dale Davis, Antonio Davis and Sam Perkins sharing duties of guarding O'Neal but the Lakers big man just proved to be on a level of his own.
#2 Almost the first unanimous MVP in the NBA
Shaquille O'Neal was very dominant in the 1999-00 season and was easily the best player in the league at that time. When everyone thought that he would be walking away with the MVP award easily, Shaq got all the 1st place votes except for one media reporter named Fred Hickman.
The backlash Hickman had for choosing Allen Iverson over Shaq had its toll and he revealed to get death threats for doing so.
#1 Owning the NBA MVP, All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP
Shaquille O'Neal indeed was sitting on top of the world after winning the 2000 NBA Championship for the Los Angeles Lakers. Above the team achievement, he also swept all the MVP awards that year.
This feat was so rare that it only happened to three players in the history of the NBA. Michael Jordan did it twice and Willis Reed was the first to do it in 1970. Since then, no other player in the league has ever accomplished the record.