DENVER – The news hardly made Lakers coach Byron Scott flinch. Former Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal became eligible as a first-ballot candidate to become inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, with festivities taking place from Sept 8-10.
“It was surprising if he wasn’t,” Scott said.
With O’Neal winning four NBA titles and ranking fifth on the league’s all-time scoring list, Scott ranked O’Neal as the NBA’s fourth-best center after former Lakers centers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain as well as former Boston Celtics center Bill Russell.
What about former Houston center Hakeem Olajuwon?