Shaquille O’Neal Exclusive: NBA Legend Talks Las Vegas Living, Lakers Expectations

Shaquille O’Neal has called Las Vegas home for two decades, and being the life of the party wherever he goes, the NBA legend must have some memorable stories.

“Yeah, but I’m not going to tell you,” O’Neal said to Casino Beats in his trademark deadpan. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, buddy. You know that.”

While he wouldn’t dish out any secrets, O’Neal, who lived in Orlando and Los Angeles during his playing career and can call any location home, explained why he’s made Vegas his residence.

“For me, it’s all about people,” O’Neal said. “People have been very hospitable. No problems on restaurants there. The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation is there. It’s fun. I just like places that are fun.”

Shaq on Lakers: ‘I’m Still Worried About the Shooting’

O’Neal will always be best known for his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The four-time NBA champion won three of his titles during his tenure with the Lakers (1996-2004), winning Finals MVP’s in all three of those seasons while proving himself to be the dominant player of his generation. 

O’Neal’s peak happened around the time of the new millennium when he led the Lakers to their first of three consecutive championships, winning the regular season MVP while averaging 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game during the 1999-00 campaign.

Fast forward 25 years later and the Lakers have the greatest player of this generation in LeBron James. However, James is 40 years old. While the four-time MVP remains one of the top players in the game, he’s running out of time to win another title as he may be entering the final year of his career. 

He is flanked by one of the top young players in the game in Luka Doncic, whom the Lakers acquired at the trade deadline at the midseason point. They also signed veteran center DeAndre Ayton, who previously made a Finals run as the starting center for the Phoenix Suns.

As the Lakers look to win another title in the James era, O’Neal’s main concern with the team is their lack of shooting.

“They have a legitimate big now, got two premier players,” O’Neal said. “I’m still worried about the shooting. It’s a three-point league now. Not guys that can shoot, (I’m talking about) bonafide shooters. Guys that are guaranteed, like JJ Reddick. He was a bonafide shooter. They got the point guard, got the off-guard, got a legitimate center. Their chances are much better now.”

Shaq: Lakers Should Be Top-Four Seed In West Next Season

The Lakers finished as the third seed in the Western Conference, showing vast improvement following the acquisition of Doncic. Los Angeles went 18-10 with Doncic in the lineup and 15-8 when both him and James were on the court together.

However, the team’s lack of depth and bigs were exposed in a five-game series loss to the lower-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.

When mentioned how stacked the Western Conference is with the T-Wolves, defending champs Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, O’Neal says he still believes the Lakers will finish with a top-four seed and homecourt advantage in the playoffs next season.

“That’s only because of age,” says O’Neal. “The Thunder are coming off the championship. They’re going to be high, they know what it takes to win the championship. Denver, they’re going to be making some noise. It’s about you get eight spots to make the playoffs, they’re going to have to be between one through eight. I expect them to have some type of home court advantage.”

The 53-year-old Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer once again points towards how the Lakers have two “premier” players in James and Doncic. 

Doncic himself led the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA Finals run just last year and is already a five-time All-Star.

“You got two premier players,” says O’Neal. “You got a big guy that can do certain things. Those three players should be able to get you to one through four. If they don’t have home court advantage, I’ll be very disappointed.”

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