Shaq Casts His Shadow Over Franchises in Finals

LOS ANGELES, June 6 -- His 7-foot-1 shadow hovers over an NBA Finals that features the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic, his first two teams, and Shaquille O'Neal lurks behind the scenes, revealing his thoughts only in short outbursts via Twitter.

O'Neal became a household name, movie star and relatively successful rapper in Orlando before bolting in 1996 for Los Angeles, where he became a former rapper and former actor -- and three-time NBA champion. The future Hall of Fame center has since moved on to Miami, where he won another title, and now Phoenix. But while O'Neal took some glee in seeing his former teams struggle without him, the Lakers and Magic are both positioned to fully overcome their respective O'Neal hangovers.

With three more wins, the Lakers can end a seven-year championship drought since O'Neal was Finals MVP in 2002, and Kobe Bryant can finally put aside the criticism about his inability to win without his former teammate.

With just one win -- let alone a championship -- Dwight Howard and the Magic can claim that it has surpassed anything O'Neal was able to accomplish in Orlando; his team was swept by Houston when O'Neal led the franchise to its previous Finals trip, in 1995.

Game 2 of the O'Neal Recovery Program Finals is Sunday night at Staples Center.

"He could sit back and say, 'I feel good about myself because I put Orlando on the map and I reestablished the Lakers,' " said Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw of O'Neal, his former teammate in Orlando and Los Angeles. "The only thing is, he wishes, in some ways, he was playing instead of being a spectator and watching."

O'Neal declined to be interviewed for this story, but he has already expressed his allegiance in this series. His message was the same one he delivered as a free agent 13 years ago. "I'm a go wit the lake show," O'Neal twittered.

O'Neal changed the course of two franchises when he left the upstart Magic for a $120 million contract with the storied Lakers. He sent Orlando into a tailspin filled with bad luck and bad drafts, while restoring some glory to Los Angeles and joining the list of legendary Lakers big men such as George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

"No doubt about it, it hit us hard," former Magic general manager John Gabriel said of O'Neal's departure, which came only four seasons after O'Neal arrived as a heavily-hyped No. 1 overall pick and one season after he and Penny Hardaway trumped Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls and led Orlando to the Finals in just its sixth year of existence. "I think in some ways because we were a young franchise, it may have hit us a little harder than others. There was no doubt he was bound for greatness and bigger things."

In the aftermath, Orlando tried to rebuild around Hardaway, who was unable to handle the burden, leading a revolt against then-Coach Brian Hill before forcing a trade to Phoenix. Gabriel then attempted to clear cap space to sign Grant Hill and Tim Duncan, only to get spurned by Duncan; he settled for Tracy McGrady. Hill was never healthy and McGrady alone could never take the Magic out of the first round.

It wasn't until the Magic bottomed out in 2004, finishing with the league's worst record, that it was able to bounce back, with the selection of Howard. Howard has led Orlando into the Finals at age 23 -- the same age as O'Neal when he made his first trip.

"I'm happy for the franchise. They have taken some huge strides," Gabriel, now a member of the New York Knicks' front office, said in a telephone interview, adding that it is impossible to predict what O'Neal would've accomplished had he stayed in Orlando. "It's unfair to say that we would've put more rings on our finger -- or a ring on our finger -- or more trips to the Finals because of one guy."

O'Neal still resides in Orlando and attended Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals at Amway Arena, but he has been far from supportive of Howard, who grew up idolizing him. He has repeatedly taken shots at Howard, calling the young center who adopted O'Neal's former Superman moniker an "impostor," among other insults. O'Neal also famously called Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy "the master of panic" in March after Van Gundy chided O'Neal for flopping against Howard.

"I can't tell you why he's said a lot of discouraging things. I wish he wouldn't say it because he's one of the few guys that we all look up to," Howard said. "But you can't control what he says. I'm playing for the Finals right now, so my focus is not on what Shaq says or anybody else. It's getting my team a trophy."

The Lakers have overcome a lottery season, two first-round exits, an embarrassing trade demand by Bryant and a Finals loss since O'Neal was dealt to Miami in 2004. O'Neal has twittered his support of Bryant, saying: "i want kobe bryant to get number 4, spread the word." This comes one year after the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics and O'Neal offered a freestyle rap at a club in which he said, "Kobe can't do without me" among other, more unrefined insults.

Bryant has become infuriated by the constant questions about winning without O'Neal, saying earlier this week: "It's nonsensical actually. You want to win just to win it." He added that anyone who thinks O'Neal would've won three titles in Los Angeles without him is "crazy."

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said he thought that being the unquestioned leader of a championship team was important for Bryant, but played down the absence of O'Neal serving as greater motivation. "I think if you take any team, San Antonio, winning without Robinson, David Robinson for Tim Duncan, I think it's just another evolution," Jackson said. "I think it's important that a person gets a chance to win. I think that's what it is all about."