How Many Rings Does Shaq Have Compared To 13 Amazing NBA Legends?
Younger NBA fans may have to ask, “How many rings does Shaq have?” not being familiar with the legendary career of Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal is one of the greatest NBA centers of all time, starring for several different teams over a 19-year career, most notably with the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, and Miami Heat.
Shaq averaged 23.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.3 BPG, and shot 58.2% from the field, all while accumulating 28,596 points for his career, 8th all-time in NBA history. As great as his individual statistics are, however, O’Neal’s greatest achievements occurred during the postseason, where his NBA Finals performances and NBA championship rings stack up quite well against many other NBA legends.
Ultimately, O’Neal’s incredible accomplishments resulted in his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
How many championship rings does Shaq have?
What team did Shaq win his ring with? O’Neal has 4 championship rings, winning titles with the Lakers in 2000, 2001, and 2002, and the Miami Heat in 2006. Overall, this 7 footer’s contributions helped his teams to an impressive 16-5 record in those 4 NBA Finals matchups, with only the 2006 series against the Mavericks ever being in serious doubt.
How many times did Shaq go to the Finals?
O’Neal went to the NBA Finals 6 times in his career with 3 different franchises, the Orlando Magic in 1995, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004, and the Miami Heat in 2006. He also narrowly missed out on another NBA Finals appearance in 2005, when the Miami Heat lost a heartbreaking 7-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Detroit Pistons.
How many Finals MVPs does Shaq have?
Shaquille O’Neal has won 3 NBA Finals MVPs in his career, all with the Lakers in 2000, 2001, and 2002. He is one of just 2 players in NBA history, along with Michael Jordan, to win 3 straight Finals MVPs.
What game did Shaq foul out of in the Finals?
Shaquille O’Neal fouled out of 2 NBA Finals games during his career, although most basketball fans only remember 1 of the occasions. The more well-known time was game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals when he picked up his 6th foul with about two and a half minutes left in OT.
The Lakers had a 2-1 series lead at the time and the Pacers appeared to have a great opportunity to tie the series. However, Kobe Bryant would lead the Lakers to a win, hitting several key shots down the stretch.
Shaq rings
2000 Lakers
From an offensive standpoint, the 2000 NBA Finals was O’Neal’s most dominant, seeing him average 38 PPG, 16.7 RPG, and 2.7 BPG, all while shooting 61.1% from the field. The Pacers’ big men nucleus of Rik Smits, Dale Davis, and Sam Perkins simply could not contain O’Neal who scored almost at will in the paint, leading the Lakers to a 4-2 series win.
Although the Pacers played better as the series went on, if Kobe Bryant hadn’t gotten injured in game 2 of the series, and missed game 3, the Lakers probably would have won the series in 5 games or less.
2001 Lakers
The most impressive performance of Shaq’s career was probably the 2001 NBA Finals, where the Lakers matched up against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers’ starting center was Dikembe Mutombo, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was tasked with the unenviable job of guarding O’Neal.
Despite facing an all-time great defensive center, O’Neal averaged 33 PPG, 15.8 RPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.4 BPG, all while shooting 57.3% from the field. Although the Sixers would win game 1 of the series and had a great chance to win game 3, the longer the series went on, the more O’Neal’s dominance wore on them, eventually resulting in a 4-1 series win.
2002 Lakers
The least talked about or remembered Finals performance by O’Neal came against the New Jersey Nets in 2002, partly since the Nets posed no threat to the Lakers at any point during the series. The Lakers swept the Nets in 4 games, although 3 of the 4 games ended up being close.
However, the closeness of some of these games was probably more due to the Lakers temporarily letting their guard down against an inferior opponent than anything else. O’Neal finished the series with averages of 36.3 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 2.8 BPG, all while shooting 59.5% from the field.
2006 Heat
The 2006 NBA Finals was the only championship O’Neal won where the outcome was in serious doubt. The Dallas Mavericks took a 2-0 series lead on the Miami Heat and were leading by double digits late in game 3. However, the Heat stormed back to win game 3, and the next 3 games to take the series 4-2.
O’Neal, for his part, played much more of a secondary role, averaging just 13.7 PPG and 10.2 RPG, as Dwyane Wade led the way for the Heat. However, if someone ever asked, “How many rings does Shaq have?”, he could now proudly answer 4, and note that it was his first title without Kobe Bryant.
Shaq and Kobe vs. Kobe and Shaq
Who has more rings Shaq or Kobe?
Kobe Bryant ended his career with 5 rings, one more than O’Neal, who finished his career with 4.
How many rings does Shaq have with Kobe?
O’Neal and Bryant won 3 titles together in 2000, 2001, and 2002.
How many rings did Shaq win without Kobe?
O’Neal won 1 title without Kobe in 2006 with the Miami Heat. Kobe Bryant would go on to win 2 titles with the Lakers without Shaq, in 2009 and 2010.
You certainly don’t have to ask Kobe Bryant, “How many rings does Shaq have?” who famously declared “Got 1 more than Shaq” when asked in the postgame press conference after the Lakers game 7 win against the Celtics in 2010 what his 5th ring meant to him.
Who has more rings in the NBA?- O’Neal vs. Other Stars/Legends
| How many rings does Shaquille O’neal have? | 4 |
|---|---|
| How many rings does Bill Russell have? | 11 |
| How many rings does Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have? | 6 |
| How many rings does Michael Jordan have? | 6 |
| How many rings does Magic Johnson have? | 5 |
| How many rings does Kobe have? | 5 |
| How many rings does Tim Duncan have? | 5 |
| How many rings does Lebron have? | 4 |
| How many rings does Curry have? | 4 |
| How many rings does Larry Bird have? | 3 |
| How many rings does Wilt Chamberlain have? | 2 |
| How many rings does Oscar Robertson have? | 1 |
| How many rings does Dwight Howard have? | 1 |
| How many rings does Yao Ming have? | 0 |
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O’Neal vs. Other Big Men (C/PF) – Who has performed better in the NBA Finals?
| NBA Finals Statistics | PPG | RPG | BPG | FG% | FT% | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaquille O’Neal | 28.8 | 13.1 | 2.1 | 60.2 | 48.4 | 30 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 27.5 | 10.6 | 3.2 | 48.8 | 74.3 | 17 |
| Robert Parish | 15.4 | 8.4 | 1.7 | 48.3 | 60.3 | 31 |
| Tim Duncan | 20.8 | 13.3 | 2.4 | 48.5 | 71.6 | 34 |
| Moses Malone | 23.7 | 16.6 | 1.9 | 44.2 | 67.6 | 10 |
| Kevin Garnett | 16.6 | 9.3 | 1.2 | 46.6 | 81.8 | 13 |
| Jack Sickma | 14.6 | 10.8 | 1.8 | 44.9 | 75 | 12 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 24.4 | 10.3 | 0.7 | 40.4 | 93.1 | 12 |
| Karl Malone | 19.6 | 9.6 | 0.6 | 46 | 67.6 | 16 |
| Kevin McHale | 17.9 | 7.4 | 1.4 | 54.4 | 76.8 | 31 |
| Elvin Hayes | 20.5 | 11.6 | 2.2 | 43.7 | 65.4 | 16 |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 23.5 | 9.5 | 2.2 | 52.3 | 70 | 56 |
So, how many rings does Shaq have?
Shaquille O’Neal is one of the best centers in NBA history, winning 4 NBA titles and 3 NBA Finals MVPs. Most basketball fans don’t have to ask, “How many rings does Shaq have?” since he played a major part in all of them, albeit a reduced role with the Heat.
Few players in NBA history can match the dominant performances that O’Neal had in the NBA Finals, specifically in 2000 and 2001 against the Pacers and Sixers.
