In a 15-minute ceremony, a montage of Shaq being Shaq was followed by a pre-recorded message from Kobe Bryant as well as speeches from Phil Jackson and Jeanie Buss. The big man's jersey was then unfurled in the rafters with the Superman theme blaring over the loudspeakers. Shaq finally took the mic himself, beginning a five-minute speech with his infamous "Can you dig it?" line. When it was all over, chants of "M-V-P" rained down on Shaq, who won three championships and three NBA Finals MVPs to along with the 2000 MVP award with the Lakers.
Shaq joins the following elite group of Lakers to have their numbers retired: --Elgin Baylor, 1958–1971 (HOF, 11× All-Star) --Jerry West, 1960–1974 (HOF, 14× All-Star) --Gail Goodrich, 1965–1968 and 1970–1976 (HOF, 5× NBA All-Star) --Wilt Chamberlain, 1968–1973 (HOF, 13× All-Star) --Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1975–1989 (HOF, 19× All-Star) --Jamaal Wilkes, 1977–1985 (HOF, 3× All-Star) --Magic Johnson, 1979–1991 and 1996 (HOF, 12× All-Star) --James Worthy, 1982–1994 (HOF, 7× All-Star) --Shaquille O'Neal, 1996–2004 (15× All-Star) Shaq and four of the others listed aboved are pictured here: Jerry West (L), James Worthy (2nd L), Elgin Baylor (3rd L), Jamaal Wilkes (R)
Yahoo! Sports: Shaquille O’Neal steals the show ... It was O’Neal who came through with the evening’s best speech, by far. ... Shaquille O’Neal was completely on point. His appreciation was sincere, his speech was pitch-perfect, and the honor was clearly deserved. We hope that it stands as a classy re-starting point for O’Neal’s post-NBA career.
Not to be outshined (again) by Shaq, Kobe Bryant came out and played his best game of the year. He had a 3-double and added 4 steals and 2 blocks. Kobe won't even share center stage with Shaq, even on his night.
Kobe is a tremendous player, but he's never won a title without at least one dominating post presence such as Shaq or Gasol/Bynum. It really illustrates how crazy good Jordan and the Bulls were to be so dominant temselves without more than merely an effective post player such as Longley, Wennington, or Purdue, etc.. Shaq deserves such an honor. Happy for him..
Kobe never had a Pippen either. Pippen/Jordan is dominant just like Shaq/Kobe or Kobe/Gasol. Same as Lebron/Wade. No one wins a title alone, without Kobe, Shaq doesn't win jack.
Because Wade was jack shit right? Wade in 2006 was a premiere guard. I mean in LA if Kobe's not there Shaq's not winning championships. It always takes more than one star. Why do you think Lebron, who is a transcendent talent did not do it in Cleveland alone? (Besides Mike Brown being the worst coach ever in the NBA, he makes Vinny Del Negro look good). You need 2 stars. It helps if you have a third.
Just saying he did it after L.A. In fact, Penny Hardaway (anyone remember Chris Rock's "Lil Penny" sneaker commercials?), Kobe & Wade all had great seasons while playing with Shaq. Shaq drew the double team in the paint & kicked it back out to his shooters.
Oh I wasn't meaning to say it was Kobe carrying Shaq, just that Shaq couldn't do it alone. And those Lil Penny commercials were awesome. But yeah having a force like Shaq downlow makes being a perimeter player that much easier.
