NBA fans have their opinions about which teams are championship contenders. Popular choices include the San Antonio Spurs, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Houston Rockets. However, as long as a 33-year-old trend continues, only five teams have a chance at winning this year, and they have NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal to thank.
Yes, even though The Big Diesel has been retired since 2011, but he is still impacting the playoffs, at least indirectly. As a Redditor pointed out, since 1984, every single NBA championship-winning team has had at least one player who played with Shaq at one point in his career. It's pretty incredible that this has been true for over three decades, but it just goes to show how much of an impact O'Neal made during his 20-year career.
Last season, the Golden State Warriors had Matt Barnes, who played with Shaq in 2008-2009, when they were members of the Phoenix Suns. The 2015-2016 Cleveland Cavaliers has LeBron James, who spent the final season of his first stint in Cleveland with Shaq.
The 2014-2015 Warriors had Leandro Barbosa, who played in Phoenix with Barnes and O'Neal. The 2013-2014 San Antonio Spurs had Boris Diaw, who, although he was traded mid-season, did play with Barnes, Barbosa, and O'Neal for the Suns.
The Spurs also had Danny Green, who played with O'Neal and James for the 2009-2010 Cavs. The list goes all the way back to 1984 when center Greg Kite was a member of the Boston Celtics. Kite was a mentor to Shaq during O'Neal's first two NBA seasons.
Since this trend has continued for 33 years, do we have any reason to doubt that it will continue? Probably, but for conversation's sake, let's say that it won't end this season. This takes championship contenders such as the Warriors, Boston Celtics, and Houston Rockets out of the running. In fact, only six teams this year have former teammates of Shaq, and one of those teams is the Chicago Bulls, who, with a record of 24-49, have already been eliminated from playoff contention. This leaves, the Cavaliers, the Spurs, the Miami Heat, the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Washington Wizards.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs have not only James but also Jeff Green, who played for the Celtics in 2010-2011, O'Neal's final season in the NBA. Out of the five teams on this list, Cleveland is the clear favorite. LeBron James is still playing at an MVP level, even at 33 years old. Since returning from a hand injury, Kevin Love has been extremely good, and behind them, the Cavs have a solid group of role players. They are still the class of the Eastern Conference, and they will continue to be as long as James is leading the team.
4. San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are 43-30 and currently own the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Their success is impressive given that superstar forward Kawhi Leonard has missed all but nine games this season. Big man LaMarcus Aldridge has picked up the slack in Leonard's absence, averaging 23.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Coach Gregg Popovich has a team consisting of role players both old and young, but he's made things work so far. It's unclear whether or not Leonard will play again this year, but if he does, the Spurs will be a tough assignment in the playoffs.
3. Miami Heat
For the first half of the season, the Heat were a solid team that was just keeping pace in the playoff race. Then, in a surprise move with Cleveland, they traded a future second-round draft pick for Dwayne Wade. Since the All-Star break, they are 9-7, and are in eighth place in the East, with a record of 39-35. Shooting guard Dion Waiters was injured in December and will miss the rest of the season. His scoring ability is clearly missed, and that is a big reason why Miami is barely holding on to a playoff spot right now. Shaq played with Wade when the Heat won the 2005-2006 NBA Finals and remained teammates until O'Neal was traded to the Suns during the 2007-2008 season.
2. New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans were supposed to be one of the teams capable of knocking off Golden State, but the torn ACL that DeMarcus Cousins suffered derailed those plans. New Orleans currently sits at 43-31, with the fifth seed in the West. Anthony Davis is having another MVP-type season, averaging 28.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. He's also shooting a career-best 34% from three-point range. Starting point guard Rajon Rondo played with O'Neal on the Celtics in 2010-2011.
1. Washington Wizards
This Shaq connection is a bit of a technicality. According to the Reddit post:
Ramon Sessions joined the Cavs on July 26, 2010, Shaq Joined the Celtics on August 4, 2010. Though technically they were “teammates”, they never played an official game together.
We'll count it. The Wizards haven't taken the step that some expected them to, but they are still a respectable team. John Wall is averaging 19.4 points and 9.3 assists per game and Bradley Beal leads the team in scoring with 23.3 points each night. Washington is 40-33, owning the sixth seed in the East.
It may sound unscientific, but if a longstanding tendency continues, the Cleveland Cavaliers are likely to be the 2017-2018 NBA champions. Shaq was unable to “win a ring for the king” back in 2009-2010, but maybe he can help his old team out this time.
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