Lakers News: Former Teammate of Shaquille O'Neal Revealed Why Star Center Went to LA

Matt Levine | Jul 26, 2024

The Los Angeles Lakers have seen all sorts of star players come through the organization, helping them to be one of the most historic franchises in sports history. They have had big personalities as well, with one of the biggest being former center Shaquille O'Neal.

O'Neal joined the Lakers in 1996 after a successful run with the Orlando Magic. While in Orlando, O'Neal helped the team, reach the NBA Finals alongside star guard Penny Hardaway.

The duo was electric and made Orlando a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference. But all things come to an end and the Magic found that out rather quickly. 

Hardaway appeared on the Let's Be Clear podcast and discussed a multitude of things. This included the free agency of his former teammate.

"I wanted to win a championship. I felt like our championship run was cut short when Shaq went from us to the Lakers. I knew that was going to be devastating, especially when you lose a guy of that magnitude," he said honestly. 

If O'Neal had stayed with the Magic, they may have won a title as a duo. But injuries to Hardaway and the desire for something bigger is what drove O'Neal to ultimately land with Los Angeles. 

O'Neal wanted to build his brand outside of basketball as well, having dipped his toes in music and the movies. Being in Los Angeles gave him the best of both worlds so he took full advantage. 

Hardaway mentioned that O'Neal didn't tell him about going to the Lakers until after it happened. He shared that he found out from a reporter asking him a question about it. 

"I found out in the Olympics in '96," he revealed. "I was in the media coverage—when we were in media day in the Olympics, and the reporter asked me, ‘How do you feel [about] not having Shaq on your team anymore?' [Shaq] didn’t tell me at the time and then afterwards he and I spoke. But he had already made a contract with the Lakers."

The duo of Hardaway and O'Neal was similar to O'Neal and former Lakers guard Kobe Bryant but they didn't have the same timeline. We will never know what could have been if O'Neal had stayed but Hardaway still seemingly remembers his decision like it was yesterday.

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