Getty Shaquille O'Neal
On March 6, Shaquille O’Neal turned 52 years old. Shaq, Diesel, Superman, or whatever else you want to call him, was one of the most dominating forces the game has ever seen. The Hall of Famer finished his career with 28,596 points, 13,099 rebounds, and four championships. As a birthday gift to The Big Aristotle, let’s take a look at some of his best career games.
This analysis only looked at O’Neal’s 1,207 regular season box scores. However, with 216 playoff games under his belt, an entire article could be dedicated to his playoff performances alone.
Block Party, 60-Point Game
O’Neal is one of the best rim protectors in NBA history, and his 2,732 regular season blocks are the eighth-most ever. His rim protection was on full display on November 20, 1993, when O’Neal had 15 blocks in a win over the New Jersey Nets.
For context, only two other players in NBA history have had 15 or more blocks in a single game. Manute Bol did it twice, compiling 15 blocks against the Atlanta Hawks in 1986 and 15 more against the Indiana Pacers the following year. Elmore Smith has the record for most blocks in a game, when he logged 17 in 1974.
Along with his 15 blocks, O’Neal finished the game with 24 points while shooting 63.2% from the field.
On March 6, 2000, his 28th birthday, O’Neal celebrated by dropping a career-high 61 points in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers. While the scoring performance is impressive enough on its own, O’Neal added 23 rebounds as well. There have only been five other players in NBA history to score 60 points or more and grab 20 or more rebounds in a game, Wilt Chamberlain (who did it 28 times), George Mikan, Elgin Baylor (who did it twice), and Luka Doncic.
O’Neal later said he had extra motivation for the game due to the fact the Clippers wouldn’t give his friends tickets for the game.
Following the game, Clippers’ interim coach Jim Todd emphasized how hard it was to slow O’Neal down, saying “We tried to do everything conceivable to stop him and slow him down. He just had it going and it was tough going against Goliath. He obviously wanted to make a point. I hoped he would stop at 50. We tried to play him straight up for a minute or so and then we tried to double him. The position he was getting, we couldn’t do anything. We would have liked to double him, the plan was to do that.”
Efficient 50-Piece, Doing a Bit of Everything
On April 20, 1994, O’Neal had a masterful performance in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. In just 36 minutes, O’Neal had 53 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. The 53 points came quite efficiently too, as O’Neal shot 71% from the field.
O’Neal did a little bit of everything on December 6, 1996, in a win over the Orlando Magic. Shaq finished the game with 25 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 7 blocks, and 5 steals, the most steals that he ever had in a game. In NBA history, only eight other players have ever tallied 7 blocks and 5 steals in a game.
There were several other games that easily could have made this list. For example, when Shaq had 48 points, shooting a sizzling 79.2% from the floor, and 20 rebounds against the Celtics on March 21, 2003. When a player is as dominant as O’Neal was, there are a lot of highlights to choose from.