Shaquille O'Neal appears to be livid after Jeanie Buss leaves him out of Top 5 most important Lakers - "Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy"
LA Lakers owner Jeanie Buss recently named her Top 5 most important figures in Lakers history and Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal was not a fan.
This came as Shaq was excluded from the list in favor of fellow Lakers legends Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James and Magic Johnson. Buss also chose former Lakers coach Phil Jackson over the "Big Diesel".
All of this prompted the big man to question Buss’ ranking on Instagram:
“Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy,” Shaq asked.
Also read: Kobe Bryant was protected by Jerry Buss from Shaquille O'Neal in his rookie days according to former All-Star - "He's off limits"
How does Shaquille O'Neal compare to other Lakers greats?
As for Shaquille O’Neal’s accomplishments as a Laker, many would agree he is one of the Top 5 Lakers figures of all time. This comes as the big man led the Lakers to three titles over eight years with the team.
Shaq averaged 27.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 blocks per game on 57.5% shooting over 514 games in LA.
In comparison, Kobe Bryant won five titles over 20 seasons in LA. Bryant averaged 25.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 1.4 SPG on 44.7% shooting over 1,346 games.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also led the Lakers to five titles over 14 seasons. Abdul-Jabbar averaged 22.1 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 3.3 APG and 2.5 BPG on 56.7% shooting over 1,093 games in LA.
As for Magic Johnson, he won five titles in LA as well over 13 seasons. Johnson averaged 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG and 1.9 SPG on 52.0% shooting over 906 games.
Most would agree that Bryant, Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson are all valid choices for the Top 5 Lakers figures of all time. However, LeBron James over Shaquille O'Neal is where some may draw the line.
This comes as James has only won one title over his five seasons and counting in LA. James is averaging 27.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 8.0 APG and 1.2 SPG on 50.7% shooting through 278 games.
Some may also question the choice of Phil Jackson over Shaq. This comes as Jackson never played for the franchise and instead coached five of the Lakers’ title teams led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Also read: Shaquille O'Neal doubting LA Lakers owner's Top 5 franchise players sparks debate among NBA fans: "TF is Jeanie Buss smoking?"