Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal, known commonly as Shaq, is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. He is a 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) and 325-pound (147 kg) center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time.
The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Since the 2022–23 season, winners receive the Michael Jordan Trophy, named for the five-time MVP often considered the best player in NBA history.
Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway played college basketball at Memphis and 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a four-time NBA All-Star and a two-time All-NBA First Team member.
The 1997 NBA All-Star Game was the 47th edition of the All-Star Game and commemorated the 50th anniversary of NBA. The game was played on February 9, 1997, at Gund Arena in Cleveland. The winner of the MVP award was Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets who played 25 minutes and scored 26 points while breaking two records in the process, 20 points in the third quarter and 24 points in the second half. Rice's 20 points in the period broke Hal Greer's record (19), set in 1968. Rice's 24 points in a half surpassed the previous mark of 23, owned by Wilt Chamberlain and Tom Chambers. Michael Jordan's 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists were the first and until the 2011 NBA All-Star Game the only triple-double in NBA All-Star Game history; LeBron James (2011), Dwyane Wade (2012), and Kevin Durant (2017) have also achieved this. Five players who were voted or selected for the team opted out due to injury, opening the doors for the annually neglected and the new stars—Joe Dumars, Detlef Schrempf, Chris Webber, Chris Gatling and 20-year-old second-year man Kevin Garnett took their spots. Baden won mvp with 55 points
The 2000–01 NBA season was the Lakers' 53rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 41st in the city of Los Angeles. The Lakers entered the season as the defending NBA champions, having defeated the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals in six games, winning their twelfth NBA championship. During the off-season, the Lakers acquired Horace Grant from the Seattle SuperSonics. Grant won three championships with the Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s. The team also signed free agent Isaiah Rider, who was released by the Atlanta Hawks during the previous season due to off the court troubles, and signed Greg Foster, who had two NBA Finals appearances with the Utah Jazz. Derek Fisher only played just 20 games due to a stress fracture in his right foot, which forced him to miss the first 62 games of the regular season. The Lakers held a 31–16 record at the All-Star break, and won their final eight games, finishing the regular season with a 56–26 record, and won the Pacific Division over the rival Sacramento Kings by one game.
The 1999–2000 NBA season was the Lakers' 52nd season in the National Basketball Association, and 40th season in Los Angeles. It was also the Lakers first season playing in their new arena, the Staples Center, becoming co-tenants with their crosstown rival, the Los Angeles Clippers. During the off-season, the team re-acquired former Lakers forward A.C. Green from the Dallas Mavericks, and signed free agents Ron Harper, Brian Shaw and John Salley. Green won two championships with the Lakers in the 1980s, and Salley won three championships with the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls. More significantly, the Lakers hired former Bulls coach Phil Jackson, who would go on to help the team win five NBA championships over the course of the next 12 years.
The 2001–02 NBA season was the Lakers' 54th season in the National Basketball Association, and 42nd in the city of Los Angeles. The Lakers entered the season as the two-time defending NBA champions, having defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games in the 2001 NBA Finals, winning their thirteenth NBA championship.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the Magic's fifth season in the National Basketball Association. The team narrowly missed the playoffs the previous season, but as a result, received unexpected good fortune. Despite having the worst odds, the Magic won the NBA draft lottery for the second consecutive season. The Magic drafted Chris Webber from the University of Michigan with the first overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft. They would eventually swap Webber to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the rights to University of Memphis guard Penny Hardaway and three future first-round picks.
The 2000 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 13, 2000, at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, home of the Golden State Warriors. This game was the 49th edition of the North American National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game and was played during the 1999–2000 NBA season. The 1998–99 edition was canceled due to the NBA lockout.
The NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player(s) voted best of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in 1953 when NBA officials decided to designate an MVP for each year's game. The league also re-honored players from the previous two All-Star Games. Ed Macauley and Paul Arizin were selected as the 1951 and 1952 MVP winners respectively. The winner is voted upon by a panel of media members, who cast their vote after the conclusion of the game. The fan voting accounts for 25% of the voting. The player(s) with the most votes or ties for the most votes wins the award. In February 2020, Commissioner Adam Silver renamed the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in honor of four-time winner Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash a few weeks earlier.
This page details the all-time statistics, records, and other achievements pertaining to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team currently playing in the National Basketball Association.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the Magic's seventh season in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Magic signed free agent Jon Koncak. Coming off their trip to the NBA Finals, where they were swept in four games by the Houston Rockets, the Magic won their second straight Atlantic Division title with a 60–22 record, a regular season record which still stands as the best in franchise history. This despite missing Shaquille O'Neal for the first 22 games of the season due to a preseason thumb injury. Penny Hardaway stepped up in O'Neal's absence and was awarded Player of the Month for November, as the Magic got off to a 13–2 start, and later held a 34–14 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, the team traded Jeff Turner to the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for Kenny Gattison, who never played for the Magic due to arm and neck injuries. This season also saw three-point specialist Dennis Scott take a place in the league history books by scoring 267 three-point field goals, a single season record since broken by Stephen Curry. Scott set a then-record of 11 three-point field goals in a 119–104 home win against the Atlanta Hawks on April 18, 1996.
The IBM Award was an award given out to National Basketball Association players from 1984 to 2002. The award was sponsored and calculated by technology company IBM and was determined by a computer formula, which measured a player's statistical contribution to his team. The player with the best contribution to his team in the league received the award. The first recipient was Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers, and the final recipient was Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs.
The 1997–98 NBA season was the Lakers' 50th season in the National Basketball Association, and 38th in the city of Los Angeles. During the off-season, the Lakers signed free agents Rick Fox, and three-point specialist Jon Barry. Second-year shooting guard, and last season's Slam Dunk champion Kobe Bryant emerged as a star in his second season, playing an increased role as the team's sixth man, averaging 15.4 points per game off the bench, while being selected to start in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game at the age of 19, which was his first ever All-Star appearance; Bryant scored 18 points in 22 minutes, as the Western Conference lost to the Eastern Conference, 135–114. Joining him on the Western Conference All-Star roster were teammates Shaquille O'Neal, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. Bryant also finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting behind Danny Manning of the Phoenix Suns.
The 2002–03 NBA season was the Lakers' 55th season in the National Basketball Association, and 43rd in the city of Los Angeles. The Lakers entered the season as the three-time defending champions, having defeated the New Jersey Nets in four straight games in the 2002 NBA Finals, winning their fourteenth NBA championship. With All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal sidelined early in the season after an off-season right foot and toe surgery, the Lakers got off to a terrible 3–9 start. After he returned, the team only improved slowly, having an 11–19 record 30 games into the season, their worst start in nine years. However, the Lakers would recover from their slow start, and hold a 24–23 record at the All-Star break, ninth place in the Western Conference at the time, and out of playoff position. The Lakers won 11 of their final 13 games ending the season with a 50–32 record, finishing fifth in the Western Conference.
Shaqtin' a Fool is a weekly segment from the television show Inside the NBA, the postgame show of NBA on TNT following the conclusion of National Basketball Association (NBA) games airing on cable TV channel TNT. The title is a play on "actin' a fool." It first aired during the 2011–12 NBA season, when retired NBA All-Star Shaquille O'Neal voiced it upon joining the show and was created by Turner Sports producer Mike Goldfarb. Shaqtin' highlights humorous and uncommon basketball plays that have occurred during NBA games in the past week. O'Neal is the host and presenter, while the other analysts in studio react and provide commentary. Most often, those have been fellow Inside regulars Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley, but other Inside hosts have also participated, including Chris Webber, Grant Hill, Steve Smith, Kevin Garnett and Matt Winer. Since 2018, the Shaqtin franchise has been led by Turner Sports producer Michael Kaplan.
