Shaquille O'Neal Essays

perennially one of the worst teams in the NBA. The Magic began a really quick turnaround when it selected Center Shaquille O’neal with the first pick in the 1992 NBA draft (“Orlando Magic”). The following years for the Magic under O’neal would be known as “The Shaq era” Shaquille O’neal was a star center in the NBA from 1992-2011 he was known for his strength and powerful slam dunks (Davenport). O’neal was drafted first overall by the Magic in the 1992 NBA draft out of Louisiana State University Aka LSU.

Have you ever wondered who the top three basketball players are, in this speech we are going to talk about that. What are you waiting for, let’s jump right into, “the top three best basketball players”of my opinion. Number one, Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook was born in november 12, 1988. He is a professional player for oklahoma city of the NBA. Russell Westbrook is a seven time NBA all-star, and a two time NBA all-star game most valuable player, and more. Russell Westbrook played college

triangle offense it involves spacing and constant moving. It also consists in a two-man game on the weak side of the court. Spacing is key though, with players needed to be 18-20 feet apart. The sideline triangle is formed by a post player, like Shaquille O’neal that 's why he dominated for most of his years in the post with the Lakers. The spacing stretches the defense both sides and it creates a lot of problems for help defense and trapping players. The Golden State Warriors ran more of a motion offense

have been many amazing players in NBA history. One position of the game with many hall of fame players is center. Centers anchor defenses and are the primary rebounders on the team. A hall of fame center with an outstanding nba career was Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal had his struggles early on against other centers like Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo but he would overcome it. From my research Shaq is the best center of all time. Shaq had a very dominant college career at LSU. He entered as a freshman

he was force to succeed as a seventeen year old playing against future hall of famers. Being a natural leader he was able to overcome the pressure of the critics and successfully won three championships with the Lakers alongside with Shaquille O’Neal. After O’Neal

Kobe Bryant played in the NBA all-star Becoming at the age 19 the youngest All-Star in NBA history for the first time in 1998. Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal teamed up to lead the LA Lakers to win three consecutive NBA Championships from 2000-2002 and was voted first team all NBA in 200-2003. In 2003 Kobe Bryant was arrested and charged with sexual assault after an encounter with a woman at a Colorado

In the National Basketball Association of Men, stood Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. One of the greatest and well known basketball players of there time and inducted into the Hall of Fame. There was a time when there names would be chanted as they walked inside the historic Staple Center, where such giants like Magic Johnson, Rick Fox, Wilt Chamberlain and many other basketball legends have played in. These icons have changed the way basketball is played today; although, they have many similarities

are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They are currently in their 26th year in the NBA, where they play in the Southeast Division. Many notable stars have played for them at one point, such as Nick Anderson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. Others include Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill, Patrick Ewing, and Dwight Howard. The Magic have not won any NBA championships, although they have reached the NBA Finals twice. The Magic were one of four new expansion

the first team name that comes to mind when thinking of the teams that build stars. Over the years, the Heat has spawned quite a few of basketball’s biggest names, including Alonzo Mourning, Lamar Odom, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, and of course Shaquille O’Neal. Number Two: The Best

drafted number thirteen to the Charlotte Hornets. The Lakers however made a trade for Kobe. By trading their center, Vlade Divac, the Lakers were able to sign Kobe Bryant. During the free agency the Lakers made another move, signing star center Shaquille

them to win the state championship, something that had not happened in 53 years. Foregoing college, he was originally drafted by the Charlotte Hornets. He however opted to join the NBA and began to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. Together with Shaquille O’Neal, they made the Lakers win the NBA championships for 3 consecutive years: 2000-2002. Bryant also led the Lakers to other wins in 2009 and 2010. His earnings His first earnings were when he was 18. He signed

averaged 50 per game, but he did it against poor defensive efforts. Chamberlain’s high scoring doesn’t mean much if it wasn’t very competitive. Michael Jordan was still able to be a better scorer even in the 90s against players like Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal, Gary Payton, David Robinson, and Dikembe Mutombo, and if Chamberlain played defenders like them his statistics would have probably been significantly lower. The main point of basketball is to score, and Michael Jordan is the best scorer of all

Michael Jordan and Kobe bryant considered to be one of the best players in the world when it comes to basketball. Both have achieved great success in the NBA, and are always being compared to each other. Love them or hate them they are considered the best in the best. That is why today in my paper I will be comparing these to players to each other. I will start off with Kobe, then make my way to Micheal. Kobe has been in the league for 19 years and has won many awards one of which is the most valuable

Kobe practices and trains harder than anyone in the gym. Shaquille O’neal said that Kobe would spend hours practicing his moves without a ball so when he did have a ball his move would be smooth and perfect. (McCracken). Kobe was always loyal to the team that had enough faith to draft him even though he did not go

of the league to change into a league based on their styles of play.” (Levin) Then in 90’s Michael Jordan has showed the best basketball in the NBA’s history. As entering the new millennium, the league’s change in style showed up and downs but Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, and Vince Carter brought a new definition to the game. These key players contain their own individual styles, but different generations in NBA had its own shooting,

If I had to compare these guys to modern day players I would say that Bill Russell reminds me more of a Tim Duncan type of player, while Chamberlain has a similar playing style to Shaquille O’Neal. Duncan was the type of player who dominated the league on both ends of the court like Russell, but was a special talent on the defensive end. They are most similar in the cerebral way they played the game, and being unselfish in a way that would

In the year of 1891, a Canadian American by the name of James Naismith, gave the world one of the best, most influential sports of all time; he gave us basketball. Possibly known as the most popular sport in the world, basketball gave many people from countries in poverty a chance at a better life in America, home of the National Basketball Association or the N.B.A. On August 3, 1949, The Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) merged to become the National

This position paper is about a question that keeps coming up. Who is the greatest basketball player of all time? This question caused many debates about who truly is the greatest of all time. He is Michael Jordan. When talking about the greatest basketball player of all time, some might wonder if it is Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, Kobe Bryant, or Lebron James. Michael Jordan probably has the best all-around averages throughout

yet. Michael Jordan may have retired, but he still a 5 time MVP trophy winner, he also been in 6 championship games. Michael Jordan has retired, then made his return to the NBA. During Jordan time in the NBA, there were many great players like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant but out of these great players, Michael Jordan rose to the top. Michael Jordan has had his downfalls like losing some of the championships. LeBron was leading the Cavs in his 2003-2010 season, but never got them a championship

final four in 1989. They lost to Michigan by two points in the semifinals. After college Nick was picked by the Orlando Magic in the first round of the NBA draft. He became the team’s leading scorer averaging around 20 points per game. Later Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway joined thus taking some of the offensive burden off of Nick giving him more space to work on his defensive game.(