Shaquille O'Neal shares a crazy graphic showing his career-high points against every NBA team
Former NBA superstar and Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal recently took to his Instagram account to share his career-high in points scored against every NBA team.
Shaquille O'Neal posted a story on his Instagram account, which has over 21 million followers, to illustrate how prolific a scorer he was in the league during an illustrious career that spanned nearly two decades.
It is a testament to the greatness of the most dominant big man to ever play in the NBA that the lowest number O'Neal managed to score versus an opponent was 35 points against the Memphis Grizzlies.
O'Neal recorded the highest scoring output of his career on his 28th birthday against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers' big man dropped 61 points and 23 rebounds on better than 68% shooting from the field. He also went to the line 22 times on the night and converted 13 of his free throws.
15 years ago today... @SHAQ puts up 61 points & 23 rebounds on his 28th birthday! #FBF on.nba.com/1McnjMp http://t.co/g2vkTB1RTj
How good was Shaquille O'Neal in his prime?
Unarguably the most dominant player to ever pick up a basketball, O'Neal was a force of nature, the likes of which have never been seen before in the NBA. His sheer girth and size made him a threat on both ends of the floor. Add to that some brilliant footwork and a high basketball IQ, many considered Shaquille O'Neal the best player of his generation.
A four-time champion, three-time Finals MVP and two-time regular season MVP, O'Neal has recorded some of the most absurd stat lines in the history of the game. Right from the start, during his Orlando Magic days, O'Neal put the NBA on notice that this big kid from LSU was going to be a huge problem.
Shaquille O'Neal’s stats during the Lakers three-peat, 2000-2002
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35.8 PPG
15.2 RPG
3.5 APG
2.9 BPG
59 FG%
Pure dominance🔥 https://t.co/6E9O6P57Pq
O'Neal once dropped 53 points on the Minnesota Timberwolves in less than 36 minutes of action, adding 18 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. This happened in only his second season in the NBA.
His dominance was evident during the three-peat run by the Lakers in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Shaquille O'Neal was voted MVP of the Finals in each of those years.
Hack-a-Shaq, a tactic that involved intentionally fouling Shaquille O'Neal to send him to the free throw line, was adopted and deployed by the rest of the NBA in order to slow him down. His free throw shooting was the only weakness in his game and it is something that has haunted him throughout his career. But when it truly mattered the most, Shaquille O'Neal would somehow find a way to make his shots from the line and the whole Hack-a-Shaq strategy didn't do much to keep him from ending up with four championship rings.