Perhaps the hardest thing to do is to verbalize an idea or belief.  First you must describe your thought, and then you must justify it with supporting facts.  Therein lies the validation of your idea and perhaps the transformation from mere opinion to near fact.  My goal from this point forward is to prove with "the facts" that Shaquille O'Neal is the greatest player to ever step foot on the hardwood.

     I guess it's only appropriate to start in from the beginning.  Let's not kid ourselves, when was the last time a player made such an impact in their rookie season?  Has anyone ever made that kind of impact on their team or on the NBA as a whole in their first year?  Michael?  Magic?  Kobe?  (that was a joke).  The truth is that Labron James is the only player who has even come close.  The reason I can say this, and you will hear me use this phrase often, The Shaq Effect.  The Orlando Magic went from the worst record in the entire Eastern Conference, (and second worst in the NBA), without Shaq to missing the playoffs on the short end of a tie breaker with the Indiana Pacers in his first season.  Actually when I look back at that season I'm amazed that the Magic performed as well as they did even with Shaquille O'Neal.

     See the truth (despite what some people think about some of the championship Laker teams) is that until the 04-05 season, Shaq had never been blessed with a great supporting cast.  Most importantly, and I'll address this in more detail later, he has never had the advantage of playing with a great passer.  Could you imagine what his numbers would look like if he had ever played with the likes of Magic, Stockton, Kidd, or Nash?  To further illustrate my point just take a brief look at the starting lineup for the 92-93 Orlando Magic.  Surrounding Shaquille O'Neal you have Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott, Scott Skiles, and Tom Tolbert.  The fact that the Orlando Magic even scratched at the door of the playoffs with that roster is a small miracle.  And that small miracle can easily be attributed to the "Shaq Effect."  I guess before I go any further I should elaborate more on the "Shaq Effect." The "Shaq Effect" is the effect that Shaquille O'Neal has on his individual team members, his team as a whole, even the fans and the city for which he plays.  The "Shaq Effect" is very real and it's very powerful.

     Now what do you suppose happened the very next season?  Do you think the Magic get even better? Of course they did!  They not only made the playoffs but secured the number four seed in the Eastern Conference.  Some have argued that the addition of Anfernee Hardaway had a major impact that year.  For those people I can only say, Anfernee who?  Does that guy still play in the NBA?  I'm being serious, I really don't know.  If he does, he must be in the NBA witness protection program.  Behold, The Shaq Effect.  Anfernee Hardaway went from television commercials with Tyra Banks and expectations of greatness, to... well seriously is he even playing anymore?  Shaquille O'Neal makes every player around him perform at a much higher level than they are capable of otherwise.  It's a fact.

     I guess I don't really need to elaborate on the results of the 94-95 season.  In just his third year in the NBA Shaq put a mediocre team on his shoulders and carried them to the best record in the East and a shot at the NBA championship.  And if a more "seasoned" veteran in Nick Anderson had hit his free throws to give the Magic game one I honestly believe the Magic would have won that series.  But you have to look past the results of one series to truly comprehend how amazing of an accomplishment that season was for the third-year superstar.

     Before we continue with the next year in Los Angeles there are some other issues that should be addressed.  The NBA was subtly changing and for one reason, or man.  Players started coming up with gimmicks to guard him like the ever popular flop, two hands and a knee in the back, grabbing him so he couldn't come across the lane, and so on.  The sad fact is that the officials gradually began to accept these practices.  You would hear, "he's just so hard to officiate."  Wrong!  He's no different to officiate than anyone else if you apply the same rules.  Seriously, how good would Michael Jordan have been if the referees let players foul him with tactics that resembled WWF moves?  MJ was such a great scorer it would have only been fair to change the rules to stop him, right?  Well that's what happened to Shaq.  A smaller man might have complained.

     In addition to modifying the rules, the NBA also had to modify their equipment.  I guess it was just believed to be too dangerous to have entire backboards and suspensions falling on players and fans as they did twice before all equipment was "Shaq proofed."  In addition players such as Greg Ostertag and Brian "Big Country" Reeves began to receive higher demand.  Teams needed multiple players with enough size and strength to take their turn in the rotation of defenders that would battle the big man during a match-up (only to eventually foul out).  Smaller centers in the league developed their best flopping techniques in preparation for the Shaq.  The sad thing is that the officials let these "dummy" tactics work a majority of the time causing the problems to worsen.  And sadly enough nothing has changed.  If you watch a Heat game you might want to pay attention to what happens to O'Neal before, when, and after he gets the ball.  WARNING:  THOSE WITH WEAK HEARTS SHOULD NOT WATCH!

     Now back on course.  Even though he had just lead the Orlando Magic to the championship series in only his third year, Shaquille O'Neal opted for bigger and better things by signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.  Maybe he was tired of a certain player trying to be "the man" and a foolish organization letting that player get away with it.  Give him a break, he's a basketball player not a psychic.  Which leads me to my next point.  Shaquille O'Neal is the least selfish basketball player I have ever had the pleasure to watch.  The man leads the NBA in field goal percentage every year.  He is number three on the all-time field goal percentage leader board!  So why would any player ever take more shots in any given game than Shaquille O'Neal?  And more importantly why would any coach, or organization for that matter, allow it to happen?  But guess what, it happens night after night.  I guess the only thing you can do is admire his willingness to pass and appreciate just how good his passing has become.