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Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and Luke Rockhold were left amazed as NBA legend Jerry West recounted how he managed to acquire both Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 1996 when he was the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers.
O'Neal and Bryant were among the top players in the league throughout their Hall of Fame careers and synonymous with the Lakers franchise. Despite the success they would end up having, they were at different stages in their respective careers when they were acquired.
During his appearance on 'Rampage's Jaxxon Podcast along with Rockhold, the NBA legend explained the process of acquiring the eventual Hall of Famers. West mentioned that he had pursued 'Shaq' while he was a free agent and got the approval of Lakers owner Jerry Buss to trade his all star center Vlade Divac for a first-round draft pick.
The trade was significant as it ensured that the team was salary cap compliant in order to acquire O'Neal. He said:
"We're trying to get him [O'Neal] and at the same time we know that he's gonna be a huge contract for that point in time...I think there was a determination of the franchise and Jerry Buss encouraging me, 'Just go forward'. We tried to make this trade [Divac for a first round draft pick] so we could get under the salary cap enough to get Shaquile O'Neal and we did, the player happened to be Kobe Bryant."
West's trade defenitely paid off for the Lakers as O'Neal and Bryant led the team to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000-2002.
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson shares hilarious story of being mistaken for Shaquille O'Neal
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson has been known for his sense of humor and recently shared a hilarious story of being mistaken for Shaquille O'Neal.
During the aforementioned episode, 'Rampage' revealed that he often gets mistaken for the NBA legend. Despite the significant size discrepancy, he noted that it has become a common occurrence when he's in Japan and asked that Jerry West share the message with him. He said:
"Whenever I go to Japan, people think I'm 'Shaq'. So, I'll be pretending like, 'Shaquille O'Neal!' I'm like, 'Yeah, yeah, so come on guys'...I know [I'm not as tall as him], but in Japan, yeah."
