Shaquille O’Neal (Shaq) played with a lot of people over a decorated NBA career, but who was his favorite player to play alongside?
Shaquille O’Neal is widely regarded as one of the best players to ever step on a basketball court. The legendary center who is also an NBA Hall of Famer played for almost two decades in the NBA, turning out for franchises such as the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics – winning four NBA Championships.
The former regular season as well as Finals’ MVP enjoyed an incredible career in the NBA where he played against and alongside some of the biggest names in the history of the game. However, one particular teammate of his comes to mind most often – as Shaq won three back-to-back NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers alongside the legendary Kobe Bryant.
Shaq and Kobe were considered to be the deadliest duo of their generation as they won three consecutive Championships from 2000 to 2002, and are still considered to be one of the greatest one-two-punch duos in NBA history. Naturally, many fans would guess that Shaq would name Kobe as his most favourite teammate ever – but as it turns out, Shaq had a very different answer.
During a recent session of Inside the NBA, O’Neal got very honest about who his favorite teammate was – and the name was not one many people expected to hear.
“My favorite guy to play with was Rick Fox,” O’Neal said. “Certain games, ‘Hey man, I need you to be in the corner, hit that shot.’ Other games you not getting a shot but I need to stop Stojakovic, I need you to stay in front of Penny Hardaway and these guys, and he was able to adjust.”
Shaq’s Lakers were so stacked that it comes as a surprise that his favourite player to play with was a role player such as Fox, but the former Laker always did his job very well.
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