Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal knows a thing or two about winning NBA championships. The Hall of Fame NBA big man won four titles, three with the Los Angeles Lakers.
During his prime, O'Neal was almost entirely unstoppable (except for one thing) and dominated his playoff runs. O'Neal and the Kobe Bryant lead Lakers won three consecutive championships. In O'Neal's retirement, he is still impossible to avoid. Turn on the television and he's in The General insurance ads, or just turn to "Inside The NBA" on TNT, and you will see O'Neal.
Most recently, O'Neal made an appearance on ESPN's "First Take" to discuss the upcoming season, and he echoed Carmelo Anthony's sentiment on the Lakers needing to win a championship.
"The great Carmelo Anthony was absolutely correct. I have no rebuttal, I have nothing to say, he's absolutely correct... Everybody always talks about age. The Brooklyn Nets and the Lakers have the most experience when it comes to age. I'm not worried about all that young talk."
For better or worse, O'Neal is right. AARP jokes aside, the Lakers have assembled this odd super-team, and a title is the only goal.
"You know when they [Lakers] get angry, they play really well. So now they're angry, everybody's doubting them. They've built this little super team now and yes Carmelo Anthony is correct it's a championship or bust for them."
People love to hate good teams, and people love rooting for popular players on teams to fail. For all the LeBron fanboys in the world, there certainly are the LeBron haters. It's time for the Lakers to find their anger and hunger. Anthony has already expressed his dedication to winning, and the rest of the team will surely follow suit.
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