An Examination Of Shaq's Claim

Shaquille O'Neal is in the headlines again. This time at least he made a point that is debateable. His statement is that the Cleveland Cavaliers are "Probably the Best Team I've ever had."

Which, those comments lead you to wonder what he feels about the four championship teams he has played on. The three in Los Angeles and the one in Miami. So, it's time to look at those teams.

The first team you'll run into is the 1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers in which under Phil Jackson the team went 67-15. The roster for the regular season looked like this:

1. Shaquille O'Neal
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Glen Rice
4. Ron Harper
5. Rick Fox
6. Derek Fisher
7. Tyronn Lue
8. Robert Horry
9. A.C. Green
10. Brian Shaw
11. Devean George
12. John Celestand
13. Travis Knight
14. John Salley
15. Sam Jacobson

Playoff Roster was this:

1. O'Neal
2. Bryant
3. Rice
4. Harper
5. Horry
6. Shaw
7. Fox
8. Fisher
9. Green
10. George
11. Knight
12. Sally

O'Neal was the leading scorer in both regular season and playoffs. Kobe Bryant was the second leading scorer on the team. The only other Laker in double figures in scoring was Rice.

The rest of the players on the team were role players. Each had their own function to make the team work.

For the Lakers next team which was the 2000-2001 season their roster consisted of:

1. O'Neal
2. Bryant
3. Fox
4. Horace Grant
5. Isaiah Rider
6. Shaw
7. Horry
8. Harper
9. Mike Penberthy
10. Fisher
11. George
12. Mark Madsen
13. Lue
14. Greg Foster
15. Stanislav Medvedenko

Playoff roster included:

1. O'Neal
2. Bryant
3. Fisher
4. Fox
5. Grant
6. Horry
7. Shaw
8. Lue
9. George
10. Harper
11. Madsen
12. Foster

Again Shaq was the man leading the way in scoring and Bryant again was number two, but were relatively close scoring wise. Fisher was the only other Laker in double figures in scoring in the regular season.

In the playoffs again Shaq lead the way in scoring and Bryant came in second. This time the Lakers added two players in double figures in scoring with Fisher and Fox.

O'Neal third championship team in Los Angeles was in 2001-2002 and the roster consisted of these players:

1. O'Neal
2. Bryant
3. Fisher
4. Fox
5. George
6. Horry
7. Lindsey Hunter
8. Samaki Walker
9. Medvedenko
10. Mitch Richmond
11. Shaw
12. Madsen
13. Jelani McCoy
14. Joe Crispin
15. Penberthy

Playoff wise the roster looked like this:

1. O'Neal
2. Bryant
3. Fisher
4. Fox
5. Horry
6. George
7. Walker
8. Shaw
9. Hunter
10. Medvedenko
11. Richmond
12. Madsen

Shaq again lead the Lakers in scoring and rebounding. Bryant again was the second option. Fisher again added in double figures.

Playoff wise Shaq again lead the team in scoring and rebounding. Bryant contributed as the second option. Fisher again was in double figures. Although, Fox and Horry were also close to hitting the double figure mark.

For the Lakers the 1999-2000 team had the most talent. It was also the team that won the most games and the two other teams weren't close to 67 in fact the closest team was the '01-0'2 team that had 58 wins.

In Miami the only team that won a championship was the 2005-2006 team that won 52 games. Here's their roster:

1. O'Neal
2. Dwayne Wade
3. Antoine Walker
4. Udonis Haslem
5. Jason Williams
6. Gary Payton
7. Alonzo Mourning
8. James Posey
9. Jason Kapono
10. Wayne Simien
11. Derek Anderson
12. Shandon Anderson
13. Michael Doleac
14. Gerald Fitch
15. Dorell Wright
16. Earl Barron
17. Matt Walsh

Playoff wise the roster was:

1. O'Neal
2. Wade
3. Walker
4. Williams
5. Haslem
6. Posey
7. Payton
8. Mourning
9. Anderson
10. Doleac
11. Anderson
12. Kapono
13. Simien

Shaq was no longer the number one option for the Heat. That was Wade who lead the team in scoring both in the playoffs and in the regular season. Shaq became the second option for the Heat.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?