Shaquille O'Neal knows—better than almost anyone—what the pressure to win a championship for the Los Angeles Lakers entails.
Even after he accomplished just that three times from 2000 to '02, scrutiny of the Hall of Fame center did not decrease. In 2004, under perhaps the biggest microscope of his career, O'Neal and his heavily favored Lakers lost the NBA Finals in five games to the Detroit Pistons; he never played for Los Angeles again.
That gives O'Neal unique perspective on the current Lakers, and in a Friday interview with Sports Illustrated to promote his new Netflix documentary Power Moves with Shaquille O'Neal, he outlined how their mentality might change in the wake of a blockbuster trade.
"People gave a little grace because it happened so quickly, but this offseason they’re gonna be watching," O'Neal said, referring to the Feb. 1 deal that sent then-Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic to Los Angeles for forward Anthony Davis.
The Lakers finished the regular season with their best record since 2020, but lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year.
"They’re gonna say, ‘Hey, Luka, how are you training? LeBron, what are you doing?’ And then next year, whoever wins this year, next year we’re still gonna be talking about the Lakers and what they’re doing," O'Neal said. "So I look for them to be a little bit more determined."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shaquille O'Neal Details How LeBron James, Lakers Could Change Approach in Offseason.