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Back in 1995, Shaquille O'Neal made it to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career. Suiting up for the Orlando Magic at the time, Shaq went up against Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets swept the Magic and many fans and basketball critics started doubting the "Big Diesel". They said that Shaq didn't have the same enthusiasm he once did.
However, one of his mentors, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, had full confidence in Shaquille O'Neal and warned the NBA of what was about to come following that loss. The Lakers legend knew that Shaq would come back better and display the dominance that everyone had always expected from him.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said:
"Everybody better be quiet coz after what he went through on that level, he's gonna be coming up to the next level with a whole lot of revenge in his mind. And that's exactly what happened. He came up and said 'Alright. Imma show you what I can really do.'"
Abdul-Jabbar's warning was on the money as Shaq moved on to join forces with the LA Lakers and became the champion he was always destined to be.
Shaquille O'Neal's three-peat with the LA Lakers
When Shaquille O'Neal first joined the LA Lakers in 1996, everyone expected him to win a title immediately. However, things didn't go as expected and the doubt that surrounded Shaq grew bigger each season.
The criticism affected the "Big Aristotle" to the point that he once took out his frustrations on five urinals. Luckily, Jerry West was able to calm the giant down and convinced him to trust the process.
With his newfound patience, Shaq waited for his time to come and continued to dominate the league. Then in the 1999-00' season, Shaq and the Lakers finally struck purple and gold and the big man was able to solidify his legacy as one of the all-time greats. What no one saw coming, however, was LA's championship streak lasting until 2002.
Unfortunately, the Lakers' historic run with Shaquille O'Neal had to come to a close due to persistent issues between the big man and the late great Kobe Bryant.
Despite LA's decision to let the "Big Diesel" go, Shaq was still able to find success outside of the Lakers and won another championship in 2006 with the Miami Heat. While he was no longer the star of the show, Shaq got the respect he deserved.
