Shaquille O'Neal reveals Phil Jackson had a blueprint ready for his first NBA championship
LA Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal famously won three of his four NBA championships under Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson. According to O'Neal, Jackson was so confident in his 2000 Lakers squad that he mapped its pathway to the NBA Finals and planned hotel accommodations.
During the 2000 playoffs, O'Neal's first championship run, LA defeated the eighth-seeded Sacramento Kings 3-2 in the first round. After dropping its previous two contests, the team secured an emphatic 113-86 series-clinching Game 5 home victory. Despite encountering adversity in Round 1, Jackson purportedly devised a blueprint for the Lakers' title run.
On Thursday's episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq," O'Neal recounted being astonished by Jackson's assuredness. According to the 2000 MVP, Jackson was confident LA would face the Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers in the Western Conference finals and finals. So, he finalized his team's travel plans ahead of time.
"On my first championship run, after the first series, Phil Jackson already had the rooms in the hotels played out," O'Neal said.
"'When we play Portland, I want to stay here. ... and when we play Indiana in the finals, I want to stay here.' Like, I was sitting in that meeting when he already had that done. I'm like, 'Is this part of it?' And then, as we go into the (playoffs), 'How the hell did he know this?'" he continued.
O'Neal added that later in the postseason, he was concerned about officiating not going his way. However, the big man noted that the "Zen Master" was unfazed and remained confident in the Lakers' championship prospects.
"One day I went into the room like, 'Man, I'm not getting no calls,'" O'Neal said. "(He was like), 'Don't worry about it, we're gonna win the next two games.'"
LA ultimately defeated Portland 4-3 in the conference finals before dispatching Indiana 4-2 a round later to capture the title. The Lakers went 15-8 throughout their championship run. However, they fared even better the following year, finishing with a then-historic 15-1 playoff record.
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Shaquille O'Neal says he respected Phil Jackson amid disagreements because he had faith in his system
During his podcast, Shaquille O'Neal touched on his adjustment process playing under Phil Jackson. According to O'Neal, despite not always agreeing with Jackson, he had faith in his system. That stemmed from witnessing the legendary coach guide the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls to six titles in the 1990s.
"The reason why I respected Phil so much was because I knew his system worked," O'Neal said.
"... Once we got it, and once Kobe (Bryant) figured out his spots and I figured out my spots, we flourished. I was getting ready to buck his system, but I was like, 'You know what? If I buck his system and we (go) back to our old ways, he's not used to our ways. We're definitely gonna lose, and I'm gonna be the laughingstock of the NBA,'" he continued.
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Shaquille O'Neal's belief in Jackson paid off, as the Lakers pulled off a rare three-peat from 2000 to 2002. Meanwhile, O'Neal won three straight Finals MVPs.
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