Lakers News: Fans Have This LA Hall Of Famer To Thank For Shaquille O’Neal’s Tenure

Jerry West made Shaq to the Lakers happen.

Los Angeles Lakers fans have Jerry West to thank for getting Shaquille O'Neal into the Purple and Gold.

In 1996, the 7'1" center was in the midst of contract negotiations with Orlando during the Olympics in Atlanta when he was invited to meet West.

He told the story on his own podcast, The Big Pod, and posted the clip on his Instagram.

"My agent called me and said, 'Hey man, you gotta come meet Jerry.' I'd never met him. I knew who he was... He said 'Shaq, I got some good news and I got some bad news.'"

West apologized that he couldn't get O'Neal the $150 million he wanted but instead, he presented O'Neal with more zeroes than he'd ever seen. The catch was that he had to sign right then and there.

O'Neal didn't have time to call anyone to talk it through but was convinced when West told him about a young kid out of high school that they were going to draft.

That young kid was Kobe Bryant and West promised O'Neal that they would win championships together.

They went on to win three consecutive titles together from 2000-02 and made a finals appearance in 2004.