Getty Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal
In his last NBA season, NBA Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal joined the Boston Celtics on their championship quest during the 2010-11 season. Despite being one of the most decorated players of all time, O’Neal also joined the Celtics for cheap.
On the February 12 episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” O’Neal explained how Kobe Bryant factored into joining the Celtics.
“We had the same arguments,” O’Neal said. “‘You can win, but you cannot with without Shaq.’ ‘You can win, but you cannot with without Kobe.’ The fact that he has two (without O’Neal) and I have one (without Bryant), I f****** went crazy in my house… I admit, in my last three years, I was traded to championship chances because if I can get five, he got five. But the fact that he got five and I got four drives me crazy.”
The Suns and Cavaliers acquired O’Neal in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The Celtics, by contrast, signed him outright as a free agent in 2010.
O’Neal and Bryant went on to win three consecutive championships together from 2000 to 2002 with the Los Angeles Lakers. In their last year together, they reached the NBA Finals but lost to the Pistons in 2004. O’Neal won a title with the Heat in 2006, while Bryant won with the Lakers in 2008 and 2009.
Bill Simmons Claimed Shaq Joined Celtics Because of Kobe
After Shaquille O’Neal joined the Celtics, famed sportswriter Bill Simmons wrote an article explaining why he believes Kobe played a role in O’Neal joining the Celtics.
Simmons explained O’Neal’s motivation back when he worked for ESPN in a 2010 article.
“I think Kobe’s postgame routine got back to Shaq. I think it pissed him off. I think it got his competitive juices flowing for the first time in years. I think he realized Boston was his best chance to tie Kobe at five. I think he wants this more than anything. I think he shows up next month in surprisingly good shape, and I think we’ll be saying in November, ‘Wow, that Shaq signing may have been a great move by Boston!’ And I think this will happen for only one reason: because Shaq hates Kobe, and Kobe hates Shaq.”
On his podcast, O’Neal more or less confirmed that Simmons was spot-on 13 years prior.
Shaquille O’Neal’s Brief Tenure in Boston
Shaquille O’Neal played one season for the Celtics. O’Neal played 37 games for the Celtics, where he averaged 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds. O’Neal also shot 66.7% from the field. O’Neal’s season was marred by injuries due to his age, which negatively affected the Celtics season.
O’Neal played 18 games with the Celtics starters Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo. In those games, the Celtics put up a net rating of plus-20.5, per NBA.com. Those numbers signify that when those five took the floor together, they dominated.
O’Neal fit in so well for the Celtics that season that the front office felt comfortable trading away Kendrick Perkins. However, O’Neal suffered an injury on April 3, 2011, which prevented him from coming back at full strength.
The Celtics went on to lose to the Heat in five games in the 2011 Eastern Conference Semifinals.