Being a basketball fan is truly exciting right now. The game is transitioning smoothly from one era to the next. LeBron James has had an incredible two-decade career, and it’s time for King James to relinquish the crown. The luster of Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors’ decade-long success is beginning to fade.

The NBA is currently undergoing a rebranding, and it’s happening at an ideal time. TNT Sports’ 35-year television partnership with the NBA will conclude after the 2025 season. The league will begin its new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal with ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime starting in the 2025-26 season. Additionally, John Tesh’s iconic “Roundball Rock” theme music is making a return, introducing a new generation of basketball fans to its catchy tune. There couldn’t be a better way to kick off this rebranding than with some fresh headliners.

The 2025 NBA Finals features two burgeoning superstars in Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the newly crowned 2025 NBA MVP, and Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Shai and Tyrese are not superstar-level yet, but they are at the doorstep. They are spearheading this new wave of contemporary talent and ushering in the yet-to-be defined era.

“We’re witnessing the changing of the guard,” said former L.A. Clippers guard Lou Williams on the “Run It Back” podcast on FanDuel TV. “We are seeing the LeBrons and Kobes of our time. These young superstars are starting to make their mark on the game and define where it’s headed in the future. SGA is going to be one of those special players.”

Lou Will had a unique perspective on Shai’s development, having been his teammate during SGA’s rookie season with the Clippers. “This is my rook,” said Williams, who recognized Shai’s maturity from Day 1. He observed how Shai dedicated himself to improving at just 20 and is now seeing him emerge as one of the best players in the league at 26.

“[Shai] was always a responsible player who carried himself like a mature professional,” Williams noted. “He had big aspirations and was clear about his endgame. He knew his abilities.”

Lou Will’s praise for Shai’s work ethic underscores SGA’s character. The Clippers had a strong feeling that SGA could become an All-Star caliber player, but an NBA MVP? “Not in my wildest dreams,” Lou Will admitted. “I’m sure Shai had [MVP] on his vision board.”

SGA embodies the qualities of a throwback player who understands the importance of consistency and patience in achieving the ultimate goal of winning a championship.

The same holds true for Haliburton. The 25-year-old Pacers guard possesses an unorthodox shooting style but plays like a classic point guard with modern capabilities. He can dominate a game without scoring, pushing the pace like an ’80s playmaker while boasting an astonishing 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. For context, a 3:1 ratio is considered well above average, while 4:1 is excellent. Haliburton is operating on an entirely different level in terms of minimizing turnovers.

Few players can match Haliburton’s killer mentality. He has made headlines by leading two historic comebacks with game-winning shots that thwarted the playoff hopes of the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers. He also delivered a memorable choke sign celebration at Madison Square Garden after making a dagger shot that seemingly floated five feet in the air before swishing through the net. That shot and choke sign celebration will linger in the memories of Knicks fans for a long time.

The Pacers achieved remarkable comebacks, erasing a seven-point lead in 34.7 seconds to eliminate the Bucks in five games, then erasing another seven-point deficit in 46.7 seconds to take a 2-0 lead against the Cavaliers. In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks, they came back from a nine-point deficit in 52.5 seconds in Game 1, with Haliburton sinking critical shots during each comeback.

SGA and Haliburton — alongside Anthony Edwards (23), Jalen Brunson (28), Cade Cunningham (23) and Luka Doncic (26) — are entering their prime years. Five of the six made the 2025 All-NBA teams (Luka didn’t qualify because of games missed), and they represent the present and future of the Association. They represent the major shift in the NBA as we head into a new era.

HISTORY LESSON: BREAKING DOWN DIFFERENT ERAS IN THE NBA

How did we arrive at this point? Let’s pop the VHS tape into the VCR and press rewind. The first 75 years of the NBA can be divided into six distinct eras.

In the league’s formative years of the 1950s and 1960s, eight basketball pioneers — Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy, George Mikan, Bob Pettit, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell — established the groundwork for greatness. Bill Russell and his Boston Celtics didn’t just participate; they dominated the era, clinching 11 championships in 13 seasons. This is an astonishing achievement that is unlikely to ever be matched.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dave Cowens, John Havlicek, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Rick Barry, George “Iceman” Gervin, and Julius Erving carried the torch through the colorful and turbulent era in the 1970s. This was a challenging time marked by the competition between the ABA and NBA, resulting in dwindling audiences.

The arrival of Magic Johnson in L.A. and Larry Bird in Boston revitalized basketball during the 1980s, often regarded as the league’s golden era. It was a period of glitz and grit. Showtime vs. Celtic Pride. East Cost vs. West Coast. This period also saw the emergence of the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons, along with three-time MVP Moses Malone’s move from Houston to Philadelphia. Moses teamed up with Julius “Dr. J” Erving in the 1982-83 season and co-authored one of the most dominant playoff runs, sweeping Magic’s Lakers in the ’83 Finals and capping off a 12-1 postseason record. Moses’ audacious move may be the first variant of a superstar player joining another superstar player to form a super team.

The Air Jordan era took flight in the 1990s. After grabbing the baton from Magic and Bird, Michael Jordan ruled the ’90s, winning six championships in eight years and denying peers Sir Charles Barkley, Karl “The Mailman” Malone, and Patrick Ewing from winning rings. Jordan’s Bulls was a perfect 6-0 in the NBA Finals and pulled off the three-peat twice.

Hakeem Olajuwon benefited from Jordan’s brief two-year retirement, leading the Houston Rockets to back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. David “The Admiral” Robinson teamed up with Tim “Big Fundamental” Duncan in San Antonio, winning titles in 1999 and 2003.

The immediate post-Jordan era was dominated by five players: Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, and Duncan. Kobe, Shaq, and Duncan combined to win 13 NBA titles, four regular season MVPs, and eight Finals MVPs from 1999 to 2010. For a decade, the road to the NBA Finals went through Kobe, Shaq, and Duncan. It was the dueling dynasties era. Shaq and Kobe led the Lakers to a three-peat — one of only five three-peats in NBA history. Mikan’s Minneapolis Lakers did it. Russell’s Celtics did it. Jordan’s Bulls did it twice. And Shaq and Kobe were the last to do it in 2002.

Nowitzki bridged the gap between the Kobe Bryant era and the LeBron James era. Nowitzki ended Kobe’s reign as the world’s best player when Dirk’s Dallas Mavericks squad knocked off Kobe’s Lakers in the 2011 playoffs. In the same playoff run, Nowitzki pumped the brakes on LeBron’s title run when his Mavs defeated LeBron’s Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.

LeBron’s appearance in the 2011 Finals started a run of eight consecutive trips. He put together a super team in Miami, winning two titles in 2012 and 2013, but lost to the Mavs in 2011 and Duncan’s Spurs in 2014. After a four-year run in South Beach, LeBron returned to Cleveland to fulfill his promise of bringing a championship to his hometown team. He delivered on the promise by winning a title in 2016, ending Cleveland’s 52-year professional title drought.

Dirk and KG revolutionized the game, ushering in a new era of big men. The Big Ticket made it possible for high schoolers to skip college and turn pro at 19. Nowitzki opened the door for European bigs who preferred to face the basket instead of having their back to it. Nowitzki and Garnett were instrumental in the game’s evolution, as more and more teams shifted away from traditional power forwards and opted for stretch-4s.

LeBron took the Cavs to four straight NBA Finals but could muster just one victory in four matchups against Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors. Curry led the Warriors to four championships in eight seasons — two of those championship banners were aided by the addition of Kevin Durant.

The Dubs Dynasty opened the portal to the “small ball” era and advanced metrics. Analytics experts preferred shooting 3s over 2s — it’s either a layup or dunk or a 3-ball — and the midrange shot was viewed as somewhat of a dinosaur idea. The modern NBA puts a premium on pace and space.

The Pacers and Thunder are extensions of the pace-and-space approach, with some added features. Much like today’s fast-paced, ever-changing world, the game continues to evolve. Sure, the traditional back-to-the-basket center may be extinct, but centers are more valuable than ever. Small ball is becoming out of style like skinny jeans. Big-boy basketball is back — with pace and space.

Spurs 7-foot-6 center/forward/guard Victor Wembanyama is the type of player every team craves. Wemby is a big man with a handle who can shoot threes while being an anchor on defense. There’s only one Wemby, but teams will scour the Earth to find a similar player.

OKC found a Wemby-type unicorn in Chet Holmgren. Holmgren may not be as tall as Wemby but he can do all the things Wemby does. Holmgren has a decent handle for a 7-1 player, which allows him to get to his hot spots. Holmgren is also one of the best shot blockers in the NBA, which allows OKC defenders like Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, and Alex Caruso to press up and stay attached because they know Chet has their back.

The Thunder and Pacers both subscribe to the pace-and-space philosophy, but what allows them to consistently play at hyper-speed is depth. Indiana and OKC throw a wave of bodies at teams, saving their starters from having to play heavy minutes.

Today’s NBA is littered with 3&D wing players and big combo guards like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and Cade Cunningham. What’s also becoming in vogue is skilled big men. Teams are looking for the next Nikola Jokic, a 5-man who can be the hub of an offense. We are deep in the era of positionless basketball where forwards can play center and centers can play guard.

Because the ball is in the hands of principal scorers, the traditional point guard is being phased out. What used to be the primary job of the point guard is now being distributed to other positions.
Haliburton might be one of the last of the Mohicans in terms of pure point guards, much like the gas-guzzling SUVs with V6 engines. It’s becoming harder and harder to find them. Suppressing point guards and centers isn’t healthy for the game. We need more of them, not less.

Shai, Cade, and Luka, on the other hand, are the archetypes of today’s point guard. They are big, heliocentric guards (6-6 and 6-7) built to play downhill, able to attack a compromised defense while coming off ball screens. They can score or draw fouls in the paint or draw multiple defenders and kick it out for open threes. It’s essentially an extension of what LeBron or James Harden have been doing for the past decade.

What separates SGA from Luka and Cade is his ability to do damage in the midrange area. The midrange (or the high post) is the area on the court that’s 4 to 5 feet below the 3-point line or roughly 15 to 20 feet away from the basket. It stretches from one side of the free throw line elbow to the next. Attack the mid-range is a core part of SGA’s game, and he’s proficient at it. During his 2024-25 MVP season when he averaged a league-leading 32.7 points per game, Shai made 57% of his mid-range attempts. The average NBA team’s midrange field goal percentage is around 42%.

There’s a fictitious narrative in basketball in terms of the mid-range shot. Many pundits and players jumped on the 3-point shot bandwagon and shoved the middie to the side of the road. But the middie never really went away. It is still the weapon of choice in the postseason, and it is still the best shot that’ll lead to a title. Outside of Steph Curry’s Warriors and Jayson Tatum’s Boston Celtics, the mid-range or the mid-post is where championship teams earn their money.

The adage of “what’s old is new again” seems fitting here because SGA is making the old mid-range shot the new viral trend.

As much as we’d like to see our sports heroes play forever, they can’t. Every now and then they might be able to summon a flicker of their greatness, but eventually the flame will go out.

We’ve been fortunate enough to watch all-time greats like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant entertain us for years. However, Father Time is undefeated and the clock will eventually run out on LeBron (who turns 41 next season), Steph (36), and KD (36).

It’s time for a new generation of stars to entertain us. Embrace the changing of the guard and get excited. It’s going to be fantastic.

Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastbreak.net. Follow and subscribe to his YouTube channel at @onemanfastbreak1.

Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world. In order to compete in a city full of celebrities, you need a star. The Lakers franchise have been lucky enough to land some of the best players in basketball throughout their storied history. From Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Magic Johnson to Shaquille O’Neal to Kobe Bryant to LeBron James, the Lakers have had a superstar headliner for the past 50 years.

LeBron is now in the twilight of his phenomenal career. His individual statistics still look good, but he is no longer an elite player. He is 40 years old and his star is slowly fading. The Lakers needed a new box office headliner to lead the Lake Show. Enter Luka Doncic.

ESPN reporter Shams Charania, Adrian Wojnarowski’s protégé, dropped an epic “Woj bomb” shortly after midnight eastern and 9 p.m. L.A. time. The breaking news post said the Dallas Mavericks were trading Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the L.A. Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first round pick.

The post, which was viewed by 81 million users, was so unbelievable that Shams had to immediately do a follow-up post just to let everyone know that he didn’t get hacked. It was real.

The multiplayer blockbuster deal that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers and shipped Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks not only sent shockwaves around the basketball community but it ushered in a seismic shift in L.A. LeBron’s Lake Show residency is expiring soon, and Luka steps in as the new face of the team tasked with keeping the championship window open.

“Luka is a one-of-a-kind, young global superstar who will lead this franchise for years to come. His killer instincts and commitment to winning championships will be a driving force for the team,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement.

Doncic, who turns 26 this month, is just entering his prime. He’s coming off a season in which he led the NBA in scoring (33.9) and made his first NBA Finals appearance. He was named to the All-NBA first team five times in his seven seasons in Dallas.

Only time will tell if the Lakers’ Luka gamble will pay off and result in an NBA title. Where does the Doncic-for-Davis trade rank in Lakers lore? OMFB examined five blockbuster trades in NBA history involving the Lakers and what were ultimate payoffs.

Lakers traded for Wilt Chamberlain in 1968 — Wilt the Stilt was 31 years old and still in his prime when the Philadelphia 76ers sent him to the Lakers for Darrall Imhoff, Archie Clark, Jerry Chambers and cash. Four years later, the Lakers won an NBA title with Chamberlain teaming up with fellow Hall of Fame Jerry West on a squad considered by many as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. With Chamberlain as the anchor, the Lakers won a record 33 straight games and finished with a then-record 69-13 mark. Bill Sharman’s group capped off the season with a convincing series victory over the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.

Lakers traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 — The Kareem trade altered the fortunes of two franchises. The Milwaukee Bucks, which received Junior Bridgeman, Dave Meyers, Elmore Smith and Brian Winters from L.A., would go more than 50 years before winning their next championship. Meanwhile, the Kareem trade was the foundation of the Lakers’ dynasty in the 1980s. Abdul-Jabbar was named NBA MVP in each of his first two seasons in L.A. and never missed the playoffs in his final 13 seasons. Kareem and Magic Johnson became one of the greatest duos as the pair led the Showtime Lakers to five NBA championships and eight appearances in the NBA Finals in a 10-year span.

Lakers traded Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat in 2004 — One month after losing to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals, the Lakers jettisoned Shaquille O’Neal to Miami for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and a future first-round pick which turned out to be guard Jordan Farmar. The Heat clearly won the first half of the trade, winning a title in Shaq’s second year Miami. But the Lakers might have had the last laugh. The first season without Shaq (2004-05) the Lakers went 34-48 and earned a lottery pick, a pick they used to select center Andrew Bynum. Bynum, Odom and Farmar became part of the core group, spearheaded by Kobe, that reached the NBA Finals three straight years and won championships in 2009 and 2010.

Lakers trade for Pau Gasol in 2008 — In one of the most surprising in-season trades in league history, the Lakers swung for the fences and hit a home run by acquiring Spanish big man Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol, and first-round picks in 2008 and 2010. Pau instantly clicked with Kobe, seamlessly fitting in without a hitch. He quickly picked up Phil Jackson’s complicated triangle offense the moment he arrived, and the Lakers went from pretenders to contenders almost overnight. Gasol, Bynum and Odom formed one of the best frontcourts, and the Lakers won 57 games in Gasol’s first four seasons. Gasol, whose No. 16 was retired by the team, will be remembered for his heroic 19-point, 18-rebound performance in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Lakers traded for Anthony Davis in 2019 — Prior to the mega deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, the Lakers acquired LeBron James in free agency in the summer of 2018. LeBron wanted an All-Star running mate and he found it in AD. The Lakers gave up a big part of their young talent – Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart – plus three first-round draft picks (one a first-round swap) in order to get AD. But it was worth the gamble. The Lakers went on to win the NBA title in 2020 inside the Disney World bubble in Davis’ first full season teaming up with LeBron. Davis’ six years in L.A. was a mixed bag. He played in only 132 games from 2021-23 due to an assortment of injuries. When he’s healthy, he was outstanding. He played a career-high 76 games in 2023-24, a season the Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup, and made second team All-NBA.

Jerry West, who died at the age of 86 on June 12, 2024, was more than just great NBA player. He was arguably the most influential person in the game of basketball.

Few in the history of the game could match West’s accolades as a player and as an executive. He was a collegiate standout at West Virginia and led the Mountaineers to the NCAA final. He won an Olympic gold medal as co-captain of the U.S. squad at the Rome Olympics in 1960. He was a 12-time All-NBA selection and a 14-time All-Star in all 14 of his NBA seasons. He won a championship with the L.A. Lakers in 1972 after suffering through some painful Finals losses — six of them were at the hands of the hated Boston Celtics. West was named NBA Finals MVP in 1969 despite being on the losing squad.

Then, after West retired as a player, he became the greatest basketball general manager. He helped build the Lakers’ Showtime dynasty in the 1980s and was the architect of the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Lakers three-peat in the early 2000s.

West signed O’Neal to a then whopping seven-year, $120 million contract in the summer of 1996. A month earlier, West orchestrated a draft-day deal (or steal) with the Charlotte Hornets that sent high schooler Kobe Bryant to the Lakers.

West famously told the story about the pre-draft process when he brought Kobe in for a workout and stopped the workout 10 minutes in after the teenager torched former defensive player of the year Michael Cooper in 1-on-1 drills. West told the late Lakers owner Jerry Buss that the Lakers “we got the best player in the draft.”

Shaq penned a touching tribute to his former general manager in an Instagram post.

There are certain people that you come across, and from the moment you meet them, you know that your life is changed. That is what happened the moment that I met you. And, looking back on it, it all seems so obvious now. You were deliberate and purposeful. You were kind and thoughtful. And your insights into what was going to happen to a Lakers franchise that you loved were spot on.

When we first met in Atlanta the hotel at 3:30 am to discuss the possibility of me becoming a member of the Lakers, first thing you said after i signed the contract was were about to do great things. You talked about a young 17 year old that you had just traded for, and that together, Kobe and I would win several championships. I have learned in my life that in order to accomplish great things, everyone has to believe that it can happen. I learned that from listening to you that day. You were so confident that we were about to be a dynasty. It made it easier for me to believe.

Your insights were hard earned. You did not have it easy as a child. But from the moment that you could stand out as a young man, you did. And you never looked back. You took your home-state West Virginia Mountaineers to the national championship game, and although you didn’t prevail, you were still named the MVP of the tournament. You came to the Lakers and played for them for 14 years. You won a championship with the team, and you even won the MVP of the Finals in a year that your team did not win the title! You then oversaw eight titles for the Lakers franchise! And you did all of it with kindness and class. You made everyone around you better, and you did all of it with such humility.

You deserve to be The Logo, but to all of us who had the honor of knowing you, you were so much more. With all of your nicknames — Mr. Clutch, Mr. Outside, or even Zeke from Cabin Creek — they still don’t capture the man that you were. But, I have a final label for you. And I am so proud that I got to call you this. Friend.

I will miss you. Much love to your entire family.

Shaq

As an adviser with the Golden State Warriors, he was credited with blocking a potential trade that would have sent Klay Thompson to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love. The Warriors followed West’s advice and kept Klay, and the rest was history and another dynasty was born.

Even though it was widely known that the inspiration behind the silhouette on the NBA logo was West, he was reluctant to embrace the idea that he was some sort of basketball paragon. But West was much more to the league than the logo he inspired. His fingerprints are felt across the game, and his contributions and decisions changed the course of basketball history.

West once told the Associated Press in a 2021 interview that he was “just part of the game.”

“I never wanted to be any more than that,” West said. “I’m extremely fortunate to have had the life that I’ve had, and that’s enough for me.”

He certainly lived a great life.

The NBA honored its 75 greatest players — 76 to be exact because of a tie — on Feb. 20, 2022, in Cleveland, Ohio. LeBron James was one of 45 members of the all-time 75 team who came in person and participated in the festivities.

For LeBron, being a part of an event to honor basketball’s greatest fraternity was like seeing the posters on his bedroom wall come to life. “To see those guys and then be on stage with those guys — it’s just crazy,” he said.

Bill Russell was one of the living legends who were honored in Cleveland. Russell won 11 championships in 13 years with the Boston Celtics. The man has more rings than fingers. Commissioner Adam Silver summed it best when he called Russell basketball’s Babe Ruth.

The NBA 75th anniversary team was selected by a blue-ribbon panel of current and former NBA players, coaches, general managers, team and league executives, WNBA legends, sportswriters, and broadcasters. Voters were asked to select the 75 greatest players in NBA history without regard to position. Panelists did not rank their selections. Current and former players were not allowed to vote for themselves.

Choosing the 75 greatest players in the history of the NBA was no easy task. For the most part, the blue-ribbon panel got it right. But there were a few notable misses.

OneManFastBreak thought it would be fun to revisit the list and rank them in order from 1 to 75, with some editing to make the list our own. The benchmarks were based on individual accomplishments, team success (with more weight placed on postseason resume and titles), how they performed against other great players in their era, overall influence and impact on the game, and legacy. But more importantly, the question we have to ask while ranking the best of the best is this: can you write the story of the first 75 years of the NBA without this player?

Here are the 75 greatest basketball players of all time, based on one man’s opinion.

1-Michael Jordan

2-Kobe Bryant

3-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

4-Bill Russell

5-Magic Johnson

6-LeBron James

7-Shaquille O’Neal

8-Tim Duncan

9-Larry Bird

10-Stephen Curry

11-Wilt Chamberlain

12-Julius Erving

13-Hakeem Olajuwon

14-Kevin Garnett

15-Jerry West

16-Dirk Nowitzki

17-Moses Malone

18-Oscar Robertson

19-David Robinson

20-Kevin Durant

21-Dwyane Wade

22-Giannis Antetokounmpo

23-Nikola Jokic

24-John Havlicek

25-Isiah Thomas

26-Willis Reed

27-Bob Pettit

28-Scottie Pippen

29-Rick Barry

30-Bob Cousy

31-Karl Malone

32-Charles Barkley

33-Kawhi Leonard

34-Jason Kidd

35-Dave Cowens

36-Bob McAdoo

37-Bill Walton

38-Allen Iverson

39-Wes Unseld

40-John Stockton

41-Dennis Rodman

42-Clyde Drexler

43-Elgin Baylor

44-Walt Frazier

45-Elvin Hayes

46-Gary Payton

47-Kevin McHale

48-James Worthy

49-Joe Dumars*

50-George Mikan

51-James Harden

52-Russell Westbrook

53-Klay Thompson*

54-Patrick Ewing

55-Manu Ginobili*

56-Tony Parker*

57-Dwight Howard*

58-Dennis Johnson*

59-George Gervin

60-Paul Pierce

61-Nate Archibald

62-Steve Nash

63-Earl Monroe

64-Ray Allen

65-Dikembe Mutombo*

66-Sam Jones

67-Hal Greer

68-Draymond Green*

69-Billy Cunningham

70-Bernard King*

71-Alonzo Mourning*

72-Reggie Miller

73-Pete Maravich

74-Dominique Wilkins

75-Paul Arizin

* Wasn’t included in the original NBA 75th anniversary team

Honorable mention: Lenny Wilkens, Nate Thurmond, Robert Parish, Dolph Schayes, Jerry Lucas, Bill Sharman, Dave DeBusschere, Dave Bing, Artis Gilmore, Sidney Moncrief, Adrian Dantley, Dan Issel, Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Yao Ming, Pau Gasol, Rudy Gobert, Chris Paul, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Damian Lillard.

OMFB’s top-12 list is rock solid. The gap between each of them is minuscule. You won’t hear pushbacks here if Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was placed ahead of Michael Jordan, or LeBron James ahead of Kobe Bryant, or Shaquille O’Neal ahead of Magic Johnson. The order can be rearranged but the history of basketball can’t be written without mentioning Jordan, Kobe, Kareem, Bill Russell, Magic, LeBron, Shaq, Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, and Julius Erving, and Stephen Curry.

Jordan is universally recognized as the Greatest of All Time — aka the GOAT. Air Jordan’s resume speaks for itself. MJ was a perfect 6-0 in the NBA Finals and named Finals MVP six times. Once he dethroned Magic in 1991, he never relinquished the crown until he retired.

Kobe is No. 2 on the OMFB list. Black Mamba was a facsimile of Air Jordan. He was the closest thing to MJ. Kobe and Mike were the same height and had the same body type. Kobe even sounded like Mike. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Jordan gave rare praise to his contemporaries, but he made an exception for Kobe. “He was a mentally tough kid, maybe even tougher than I was,” Jordan said of Kobe, who tragically died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. Jordan spawned millions of ballers who wanted to be Just Like Mike. Kobe gifted the next generation of hoopers the “Mamba Mentality.” If you’re still not convinced that Kobe deserves to be No. 2 on the all-time list, pull up the YouTube video from Jan. 22, 2006. Kobe authored arguably the greatest individual performance in NBA history when he scored 81 points in 42 minutes. Phil Jackson, who coached Michael Jordan in Chicago, was sitting on the Lakers bench for Kobe’s 81-point game. He put it in proper perspective. “It was another level,” Jackson said. “I’ve seen some remarkable games, but I’ve never seen one like that before.”

Some LeBron fans might be aghast seeing their beloved king at No. 6. But here are the cold, hard facts. LeBron lost six times in 10 trips to the NBA Finals. He has a 22-33 win-loss record in The Finals. Magic (24-26), Erving (10-12) and Wilt (16-19) are the other top-12 players who had sub-.500 records in the NBA Finals. LeBron lost to Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs twice and he could have been 0-3 against Duncan if Ray Allen hadn’t made a ridiculous late-game 3-pointer, saving the Heat’s season and forcing a Game 7. LeBron is 1-3 against Steph Curry. It’s an unfair record because Curry teamed up with Kevin Durant in 2017 and 2018 against James, but they were “Ls” on LeBron’s resume nonetheless.

LeBron’s place among basketball’s all-time greats is secure. To say he’s had a better career than Jordan, Kobe, Kareem, Magic, Russell, or even Duncan is up for debate.

Steph Curry broke into the top 10 after winning his fourth NBA title. Curry is considered the best long-range shooter in the sport, and the numbers back it up. When Steph hangs up his Under Armour sneakers, a strong case could be made that he was the most influential. Because of Steph — the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made — there’s a generation of players at various levels launching shots from beyond the arc.

OMFB made the difficult decision to remove 10 players from the league’s original top-75 list and inserted 10 new names: Joe Dumars, Dennis Johnson, Dwight Howard, Dikembe Mutombo, Klay Thompson, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Bernard King, Alonzo Mourning and Draymond Green.

Dumars was a two-time NBA champ and Finals MVP in 1989. Thompson is a four-time NBA champ and arguably the second-greatest 3-point shooter we’ve ever seen. Thompson pulled off an unthinkable feat in 2017 when he scored 60 points in 29 minutes, using just 11 dribbles. Dennis Johnson earned three championship rings and was Finals MVP in 1979. Larry Bird considered DJ the best player he ever played with. Howard was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), carried the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009, and won a title with the L.A. Lakers in 2020. Mount Mutombo was a four-time DPOY and pulled out the “finger wag” each time he blocked a shot.

Parker inspired a generation of new-age point guards. Aside from winning the 2007 Finals MVP, the four-time NBA champion’s biggest contribution to the game was his signature shot: the tear-drop floater. The vast majority of guards in today’s game, from high school to college to the pros, have a floater in their bag of shots. Parker’s backcourt mate in San Antonio, Ginobili, sacrificed personal statistics in order for the Spurs to win titles. Ginobili posted modest numbers throughout his career (13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists), but his 72% winning percentage ranks among the all-time best. Ginobili also introduced one of the best basketball moves in recent memory — the Eurostep.

Alonzo Mourning was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and won a championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. Pat Riley’s famed “Heat Culture” in Miami wouldn’t exist without Zo. He embodies what Heat Culture is all about. The Heat prided itself on being the hardest-working, best-conditioned team, and that defined Mourning’s career until a rare kidney diseased robbed him of his athletic prime.

Bernard King was a scoring machine until he wrecked his knee at the peak of his powers. Armed with a smooth turnaround jumper that was nearly impossible to stop, King put on a show in the 1984 playoffs as he averaged 34.8 points and almost single-handedly led the New York Knicks to the conference semifinals.

Outside of Dennis Rodman, four-time champ Draymond Green might be the most unique player. The 2017 DPOY won’t blow you away with individual stats but he’s arguably the heart and soul of the Golden State Warriors dynasty. Green is the primary playmaker on offense as the point forward and the anchor on defense.

The first 75 years of the NBA can be broken down into six eras.

From the 1950s through the 1960s, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy, George Mikan, Bob Pettit, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell were the pioneers.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dave Cowens, John Havlicek, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Rick Barry, and Julius “Dr. J” Erving carried the torch through a rough patch in the 1970s when the ABA and NBA canceled each other and the audience dwindled.

Magic and Bird revived basketball in the 1980s, arguably the league’s golden era that also included the rise of Isiah Thomas’ “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons. Moses Malone teamed up with Dr. J during the 1982-83 season and together they co-authored one of the most dominant playoff runs, sweeping Magic’s Lakers in the ’83 Finals and capping off a 12-1 postseason.

Michael Jordan took the baton from Magic and Bird and ruled the 1990s. Jordan won six championships in eight years, pulling off the three-peat twice and denying peers Sir Charles Barkley and Karl “The Mailman” Malone from winning rings. Hakeem Olajuwon benefited from Jordan’s brief retirement, leading the Houston Rockets to back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. David “The Admiral” Robinson teamed up with Tim “Big Fundamental” Duncan in San Antonio, winning titles in 1999 and 2003.

The immediate post-Jordan era was dominated by five players: Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, and Duncan. Kobe, Shaq, and Duncan combined to win 13 NBA titles, four regular season MVPs, and eight Finals MVPs from 1999 to 2010. For a decade, the road to the NBA Finals went through Kobe, Shaq, and Duncan.

Dirk and KG revolutionized the game and ushered in a new era of big men. The Big Ticket made it possible for high schoolers to skip college and turn pro at 19. Nowitzki opened the door for European bigs who preferred to face the basket instead of having their back to it. Nowitzki and Garnett were instrumental in the game’s evolution, as more and more teams shifted away from traditional power forwards and opted for stretch-4s.

Nowitzki bridged the gap between the Kobe Bryant era and the LeBron James era. Nowitzki ended Kobe’s reign as the world’s best player when Dirk’s Dallas Mavericks squad knocked off Kobe’s Lakers in the 2011 playoffs. In the same playoff run, Nowitzki put a pause on LeBron’s title hopes when his Mavs defeated LeBron’s Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.

LeBron’s appearance in the 2011 Finals started a run of eight consecutive trips. He put together a super team in Miami, winning two titles in 2012 and 2013, but lost to the Mavs in 2011 and Duncan’s Spurs in 2014. After a four-year run in South Beach, LeBron returned to Cleveland to fulfill his promise of bringing a championship to his hometown team. He delivered on the promise by winning a title in 2016, ending Cleveland’s 52-year professional title drought.

LeBron took the Cavs to four straight NBA Finals but could muster just one victory in four matchups against Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors. Curry led the Warriors to four championships in eight seasons — two of those championship banners were aided by the addition of Kevin Durant.

The Warriors opened the portal to the “small ball” era and advanced metrics. Analytics experts preferred shooting 3s over 2s — it’s either a layup or dunk or a 3-ball — and the midrange shot was viewed as somewhat of a dinosaur idea.

The modern day NBA put a premium on pace and space. The traditional back-to-the-basket center is becoming extinct and today’s game is dominated by versatile wing players like LeBron, Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. All of whom can anchor a defense like a center and initiate the offense like a point guard. We are now in the era of positionless basketball.

Basketball is cyclical. What may be considered old school could swing back to new school. The next generation of players will determine what the NBA will become in 25 years when we celebrate the league’s 100th anniversary.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Shaquille O’Neal’s No. 34 jersey was retired by the Lakers. (GETTY IMAGES)

Shaquille O’Neal officially announced his retirement on June 1, 2011, and it took the Los Angeles Lakers just two years to honor The Diesel by raising his No. 34 jersey in the rafters at Staples Center on April 2, 2013. In classic Shaq fashion, he gave Lakers fans one thundering messaged: “Can you dig it!”

In a video post on Tout.com in 2011, Shaq said: “We did it. 19 years baby. I want to thank you very much. That’s why I’m telling you first. I’m about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon.”

Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass, in 2016. The Diesel headlined the 10-member class that included Philadelphia 76ers great Allen Iverson, Chinese superstar Yao Ming, WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes, longtime Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and NBA executive Jerry Reinsdorf.

O’Neal, a four-time NBA champion and three-time Finals MVP, was one of the NBA’s most popular stars for what he did both on and off the court. Shaq was the most dominant big man of his era, and arguably one of the 10 best centers of all time. To honor the man with more nicknames than Apollo Creed, and arguably one of the five greatest centers in basketball, here are his 19 greatest moments for each of his 19 seasons. His glorious and colorful career brought many great highlights in Orlando, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland, and Boston. He won four NBA championships, three NBA Finals MVPs, one regular season MVP and countless outlandish one-liners. A look at his most memorable moments:

19) One of Shaq’s best attributes was his quick wit. He got a kick out of giving everyone nicknames, from teammates to opponents. He gave Paul Pierce the nickname “The Truth”; he was responsible for Dwyane Wade’s “Flash” moniker; and he tagged Tim Duncan “The Big Fundamental.” He also gave Kobe Bryant a nickname, but unfortunately we can’t publish it.

18) As a rookie in 1992-93, O’Neal brought the house down – literally – in Phoenix when he pulled down the entire basket stanchion on a follow-up dunk against Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns. It was Shaq’s coming-out-party since the game was on national TV and the NBA was dying to showcase a young bright star in case Michael Jordan retires and decides to play baseball. In the same season, the legend of Shaq grew even bigger when he shattered a backboard in New Jersey with the force of his dunk, and the shot clock clipped him on the head.

17) Shaq won the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 1992-93 season, helping turn the Magic into one of the biggest draws in the league. With Shaq front and center, Orlando went from a 21-win team to a 41-win team.

16) Who could forget Neon Boudeaux? OK, his performance in “Blue Chips” probably wasn’t Oscar-worthy but it pretty much summarized Shaq’s basketball career. It lacked substance at times, there were some bright moments, but overall it was extremely entertaining. “Kazaam!” and “Steel” on the other hand, were simply atrocious. Sorry, Shaq.

15) The Magic won the lottery again in 1994, trading the pick for guard Penny Hardaway. Shaq and Penny formed one of the best tandems in the league and, even though their union was short-lived, it brought the Magic to new heights, winning 50 games in 1993-94 and reaching the NBA Finals in 1995.

14) The best part about those Lakers championships during the Shaq-Kobe era was the postseason celebration. Nobody can get a crowd going better than The Big Entertainer. His rendition of “It Takes Two” in 2001 before 250,000 Laker fans gathered in front of Staples Center was easily the best championship parade in the history of parades. To cap things off, Lakers forward Mark Madsen did his little dance routine (or whatever he was doing) that left everyone in a frenzy.

13) Much has been written and said on how Hakeem Olajuwon “destroyed” Shaq in the ’95 Finals. Statistically speaking, The Diesel averaged 28 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 2.5 blocks, while Olajuwon averaged 32 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks in the Rockets’ four-game sweep. Sounds like a stalemate in terms of the one-on-one matchup. Just to show there were no hard feelings between the two big men, Shaq and Hakeem shot a Taco Bell commercial in the offseason. Watching the two of them ride a tandem bike was hilarious.

12) The highlight of the 2009 All-Star game in Phoenix was The Big Cactus taking the stage and performing a dance routine with “America’s Best Dance Crew” Jabbawockeez during the pre-game festivities.

11) As a member of Team USA’s dominant 1995 World Championship team in Toronto (also known as Dream Team II), O’Neal was named MVP of the tournament despite not playing heavy minutes. He also starred on the United States Olympic basketball team that won the gold medal in the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.

10) On March 6, 2000, Shaq celebrated his birthday with a bang! Prior to the game against the Clippers, Shaq was upset the Clippers (the home team for that night at Staples) didn’t provide him with enough tickets. He unleashed his anger on the Clippers by dropping 61 points.

9) Before LeBron James’ much-publicized “Decision” in 2010, there was “Shaq Goes to Hollywood” free-agent saga in the summer of ’96. Thanks to the bright mind of L.A. Lakers general manager Jerry West, the balance of power in the league shifted from the East Coast to the West Coast when O’Neal signed a record-setting $120-million contract to move to L.A., and then the Lakers traded for 18-year-old high school phenom Kobe Bryant on draft night. It was the beginning of the Shaq-Kobe dynasty.

8) Game 7 in Sacramento in 2002 will go down in history as one of the best playoff games in NBA history. The Lakers and Kings played an epic overtime game at Arco Arena, with the Laker prevailing and advancing to the NBA Finals. But after the game, Shaq topped his on-court performance with an off-the-court, impromptu rap dedicated to Vladic Divac. Watch and listen:

7) After being traded to the Miami Heat in summer of 2004, Shaq promised Miami fans that he’ll bring a championship to South Beach. Two years later, that promised was fulfilled as O’Neal and D-Wade led the Heat, coached by the great Pat Riley, past Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals.

6) Shaq was named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all time in 1997 despite having played in only five seasons. The recognition was debated by some basketball experts, but basketball writer Peter Vecsey defended the selection, arguing that O’Neal belongs in the conversation and was already well on his way to becoming one of the dominant players the league has ever seen. As usual, Vecsey was right.

5) The Diesel was extra motivated to play the 76ers in the 2001 NBA Finals because he was going up against Defensive Player of the Year Dikembe Mutombo, who likes to throw his signature finger-wag each time he stuffs his opponent. Shaq never dunked the ball harder in his life during the 2001 Finals, and dropped a few devastating elbows toward Mt. Mutombo’s chest and face. There was one play in which Shaq lifted Mutombo off his feet and exploded for a one-hand slam, showing his awesome power and agility. The Lakers rolled to their second consecutive NBA title, losing only one game in the playoffs. O’Neal captured his second Finals MVP trophy. He averaged 33 points, 16 rebounds and 3.4 blocks against a Sixer squad led by 2001 MVP Allen Iverson.

4) A young 260-pound Shaq exploded onto the basketball scene when he rocked the 1989 McDonald’s High School All-American game with one ferocious coast-to-coast slam dunk. It certainly got a huge rise out of ESPN’s Dick Vitale, who said during the telecast: “Oh! Oh! Oh! I can’t believe! I can’t believe it! That’s a 7-footer!” That play launched a two-decade basketball career is certainly worthy of a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. O’Neal went on to star at LSU for three years before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic in 1992. He finished his NBA career with 28,596 points and shot 58% from the field, both marks are in the top five.

3) Shaq loved the whole Superman persona, and he finally fulfilled his kryptonian side when he pieced together one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history in 1999-2000 when he was named regular season MVP (near unanimous choice), All-Star Game MVP and NBA Finals MVP in leading the Lakers to their first NBA title since 1988. In the Lakers’ six-game series win over the Pacers in The Finals, O’Neal posted some jaw-dropping numbers: 45 minutes per game, 38 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. During his acceptance speech for winning the regular season MVP, Shaq told the media that he would like to be referred to as The Big Aristotle.

2) The Lakers needed a fantastic finish to cap their stunning comeback in Game 7 of 2000 Western Conference finals against the Portland Trail Blazers and Kobe and Shaq provided that moment. Kobe dribbled to the top of the arc, crossed over Scottie Pippen, and drove to the hoop. Kobe floated a perfect lob pass that only O’Neal and his massive 7-foot-1 frame can reach. The alley-oop dunk punctuated the Lakers’ furious rally and ignited a run of three consecutive NBA championships.

1) Shaquille O’Neal showcased his talent as an entertainer and proved that he’s more than just a basketball talent when he appeared in a music video with the rap group Fu-Schnickens in the early 1990s. It was not only the birth of Shaq Fu, but it was also the beginning of a successful career that went above and beyond the game of basketball. It was a glimpse of what was to come for the next two decades. He was the first professional athlete to cross over to the rap game and be accepted as a true hip-hop artist and not just a novelty act. Shaq appeared with Fu-Schnickens on “The Arsenio Hall Show” in 1992, and from that point on he never stopped being an entertainer. O’Neal released four albums, including “Shaq Diesel” which went platinum. Shaquille’s popularity extends outside of sports. He is a successful entrepreneur, music and film star, and his larger-than-life personality that can lift up an entire planet. He is a true global icon.

Click here to read the best quotes from Shaquille O’Neal

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter at: twitter.com/onemanfastbreak.

Kobe Bryant is a five-time NBA champion and 2008 MVP. (GETTY IMAGES)

Kobe Bryant is one of the most polarizing figures in sports. He’s part Michael Jordan, part Alex Rodriguez. No player in the NBA fills both ends of the spectrum like Kobe Bean Bryant. He plays the hero and the villain better than anyone.

When Kobe finally decides to hang up his Nikes, it’ll be a somber day in the basketball universe. That time seems to be nearing.

If you watched Bryant’s interview with Ahmad Rashad on NBA TV you get the sense that the five-time NBA champion and 2008 MVP seems at peace with himself. He sounded like a man who is ready to embrace his post-basketball journey.

Bryant said when he tore his Achilles’ tendon in 2013 he started thinking about his future. Prior to the injury, all Bryant could think about was winning a sixth NBA title. That relentless pursuit may be what caused his tendon to snap in the first place. We don’t know that for sure. What we do know is that Bryant’s NBA career is down to its final moments. A championship is no longer within his sight, and Kobe is beginning to realize that.

For much of his career, Kobe was always in control. His magnificent skills allowed him to manipulate basketball games like the greats before him. But now, Kobe is facing an undefeated champion of sports: Father Time.

The best question of the interview came toward the end when Rashad asked Bryant, “Who is Kobe Bryant?”

Kobe answered the simple question with a surprising answer.

“I’m just like everybody else,” Bryant said. “I’m outgoing, sometimes. I’m private in others. Talkative in some situations. Quiet in some situations. I’m arrogant sometimes. I’m an outgoing person with people that I know. I’m just like everybody else, man.”

Just like everybody else? Outgoing? Talkative? These are not necessary words or phrases associated with Bryant. We’ve always known him to be this maniacal competitor who would box out his own mom to grab a rebound.

But this is the new Kobe. A more reflective Kobe. A Kobe who seems to be embracing his basketball mortality and looking more, well, human.

A portion of the interview also focuses on Kobe’s relationship with Jordan, the man he idolized and patterned his game after.

“I grew up having that same kind of competitiveness,” Kobe said of Michael. “His technique was flawless. I wanted to make sure my technique was just as flawless.”

And what would a Kobe interview be without being asked about his greatest rival and greatest teammate: Shaquille O’Neal.

Bryant points to a photo of he and Shaq and offers his analysis.

“This is a great snapshot of the difference in personalities between the two of us,” Bryant said of the image that shows Kobe looking real serious before a game while Shaq appears to be looking around the arena.

Even though Bryant and O’Neal were not friends they pushed each other to be the best they can be. They are the only superstar duo to score a three-peat, other than Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Shaq was the most dominant physical force inside and Kobe was the most dynamic scorer outside. It was like akin to having Jordan and Wilt on the same squad.

When Rashad asked Kobe why it didn’t last with Shaq, he gave some thoughtful responses but one really stood out. Basically, Kobe said, “I was no sidekick.”

Now that’s the old Kobe talking.

Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Dwight Howard heads to Houston after one season in L.A. (GETTY IMAGES

For someone who likes playing the role of superhero, Dwight Howard has gotten real good at being a villain. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant now have company at the top when it comes to polarizing figures in the league.

We can never refer to Howard as Superman ever again because Superman would have never left Metropolis for Houston.

Since announcing on Twitter that he’s leaving the L.A. Lakers and sign with the Houston Rockets, Howard has been bombarded with criticism from Lakers fans and former NBA players. Fans now playfully refer to him as Dwight Coward. Charles Barkley believes he lacks mental toughness, and Shaquille O’Neal says he couldn’t handle the bright lights of the big city so he bolted for the “little” city of Houston.

The cold, hard truth of the matter is this: Howard did not deserve the attention. He’s nowhere near the caliber of a LeBron or Kobe or Kevin Durant. Tim Grover — who trained Michael Jordan and Dwyane Wade — calls Howard a “cooler,” someone who is uncomfortable in a leadership role.

Drama seems to follow Howard wherever he goes, starting in Orlando and ending in L.A. His flip-flopping and indecisiveness overshadowed what he did on the court. All the posturing and constant waffling got real annoying. And the fact that he’s referred to as the best center in the NBA is an incredible indictment on the state of big men in the Association. Howard pales in comparison to other great big men who played against him and before him.

Howard has averaged more than 20 points just four times in nine seasons, and his best scoring season was 22.9. And in his one and only season with the Lakers, Howard averaged just 17 points per game. O’Neal averaged more than 20 points for 14 straight seasons, and won the scoring title twice (1995 and 2000). Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon averaged more than 20 points for 13 straight seasons, and David Robinson’s scoring average never dipped below 23 during his first seven years.

O’Neal has said that in order to be considered a true dominant big man in the NBA, you need to average 28 (points) and 15 (rebounds). Shaq backs up his claim because he pulled off the feat in 2000 and 2001, averaging 30 and 15 during the postseason in leading the Lakers to back-to-back titles.

Howard has never won a title and has never come close to winning a scoring title. He has led the league in rebounding five times and has been named defensive player of the year three times. But he’s a liability on offense because he lacks post moves and can’t hit free throws.

“Dwight Howard picks up two offensive fouls a game because he doesn’t know how to post up,” Barkley said.

Despite his limitations on offense, Howard insisted that the offense should run through him. That was his main beef with Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni.

Howard desperately wanted more touches in the post and felt that D’Antoni never fully appreciated his talent. But when Kobe went down in April with an Achilles tear and Pau Gasol was out with a foot injury, Howard had an opportunity to show what he can do as the lead guy and whiffed. He could have backed up his talk against the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, but he was too busy engaging in hand-to-hand combat in the paint with Matt Bonner. He whined the whole time and quit on the Lakers, who got swept by the Spurs in embarrassing fashion.

Shaq was absolute right about Howard. Dwight chose to play in Houston because it was the “safe” move for him. He’ll beloved in Houston and James Harden won’t push him as hard as Kobe did. Howard can clown around in Houston and get away it. The spotlight in Houston won’t be as hot as L.A.

It was sad to see a great franchise like the Lakers basically had to beg Howard to stay in L.A., putting up billboards and massaging his ego. The Lakers are better off without Howard. The Dwightmare is over.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Dwight Howard calls the 2012-13 season with the Lakers a “nightmare.” (GETTY IMAGES)

Drama seems to follow Dwight Howard wherever he’s at. He was like a petulant child in his final days in Orlando, holding the team hostage for months because he couldn’t make up his mind. Now, the drama has shifted to Los Angeles where Howard is again at the center of a firestorm that will undoubtedly exhaust the Lakers franchise this offseason.

Howard will be a free agent this summer and could leave L.A. for another city. In what may be his final game in a Laker uniform, Howard scored seven points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had five turnovers in just 20 minutes because he was ejected in the third quarter for arguing with an official after he felt he wasn’t getting the benefit of the calls against the Spurs big men. Howard walked off the court, briefly ran into Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak in the tunnel and had some choice words about the officiating.

It wasn’t exactly the image the Lakers envisioned when they acquired Howard during the offseason. He was suppose to help Kobe Bryant win championship ring No. 6 and serve as the Lakers’ next great franchise player of the future.

The season didn’t go as planned and, when the Lakers needed Howard the most, he folded his tent and literally left the building. As much as we’d like to think that Howard didn’t quit on his team, it certainly begs the question.

Magic Johnson had the same thought when he tweeted this message to Laker Nation moments after the Spurs eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs: “Dwight with an already depleted team you couldn’t afford to foul out or get kicked out. Having you on the floor was the only chance for the @Lakers.”

Hours later, Howard responded Monday morning and apologized to Laker Nation. Here’s a series of tweets from @dwighthoward:

The four-game sweep was a fitting conclusion to a season Howard described as a “nightmare.”

“It’s like a bad dream, and we just couldn’t wake up from it. That’s what it felt like,” Howard said. “It seemed like nothing could go right, right from the start, injuries and all that stuff. We get an opportunity to get some rest for guys who are injured. A chance to rehab and think about what we can all do to better ourselves.”

When Yahoo! Sports writer Marc Spears asked Dwight if the last part of that statement reflected optimism toward returning, Howard said: “You’re reading too much into it.”

One of Howard biggest critics is Shaquille O’Neal, who knows a thing or two about playing center for the Lakers. O’Neal said on TNT’s postgame show Sunday that the first thing Howard needs to do is change his attitude and approach to the game. “Dwight is a power player and he needs to get some power moves. This is his seventh or eighth year and I’m disappointed that he doesn’t have a go-to move where he could score every time. The rest is just all heart and determination.”

O’Neal recalled when he acted up like Howard, complaining to the refs and whining about not getting enough calls. But Shaq said former Lakers assistant coach Bill Bertka convinced him that he needed an attitude adjustment. “I used to be like Dwight, doing stupid stuff and getting techs. Bill Bertka, Phil Jackson, and my father Phil Harrison told me ‘Do you see Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] complaining?’ No. Kareem went out, dominated, and won championships. The way to combat [the bad calls] and defeat that is to go out and dominate.”

Charles Barkley said Howard needs to spend more time with former Rockets great Hakeem Olajuwon and learn some post-up moves because Howard is severely limited when it comes to low-post skills. “He doesn’t even know how to post up,” Barkley said. “He’s a very good rebounder and shot-blocker, but offensively he hasn’t gotten better.

“You notice he gets one or two offensive fouls a game because he doesn’t know how to post up. He’d post up with his arms way down. When you post up, you put your arm up. You don’t swing your arms. I like him a lot as a person, but as a player he’s got a long way to go.”

From strictly a financial standpoint, it would be better for Howard to re-sign with the Lakers because the team could pay him a five-year, maximum $117.9 million contract. If he signed somewhere else, he’d only get a four-year deal worth around $87 million. Howard would have to walk away from $30 million on the table if he decides to leave the Lakers. That alone should be an indication that Howard is leaning heavily toward re-signing with L.A., which is not good news for Lakers management because — based on the last two seasons — he has proven be undependable and unfit to be the face of a franchise.

Howard says he’s going to reflect on the season and clear his head. What the Lakers should do is clear his locker room and plan on not having him for the foreseeable future.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Shaquille O’Neal goes to YouTube to thank his Lakers teammates and Kobe Bryant. (GETTY IMAGES)

Shaquille O’Neal took some heat on Twitter Tuesday night during his jersey retirement ceremony for not mentioning his Laker teammates, especially Kobe Bryant. Can we just drop this whole Shaq-Kobe hate thing? That was so 2008!

Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke reopened old wounds when he tweeted this Tuesday night: “Stunned that everyone wants Shaq to thank Kobe, yet Kobe couldn’t even come out of locker room first to thank him? For those of us who had to live through the Shaq-Kobe feud, it’s sad that even now, they can’t get together on a court to honor each other.”

C’mon, Plaschke! You’re one of my favorite writers, but let’s not go there.

Time heals all wounds and it appears that Shaq and Kobe have indeed buried the hatchet. When Shaq dropped by Staples Center to catch a Lakers-Suns game in February, he and Kobe embraced, had a nice conversation, and even shared a laugh. Kobe playfully calls Shaq “Four” to remind the big fella that he’s one behind the Black Mamba in the number of championships won. Kobe recently admitted that playing with Shaq was never going to last long because, as he told Yahoo! Sports writer Marc J. Spears, “you can’t expect Michael [Jordan] to play with Wilt [Chamberlain] for his entire career.” Kobe also said he sacrificed a lot numbers-wise to play with Shaq, and he simply had “too much talent” to just play the second lead in L.A.

The two have come a long way since they’re playing days when they literally tried to kill each other on and off the court. Even when Shaq left L.A. he still found ways to irritate Kobe. Remember Shaq’s 2008 freestyle rap song “Kobe, how does my ass tastes?”

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal share a moment at the All-Star Game in Las Vegas. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

That song certainly wasn’t one of Shaq’s brightest moments, and Kobe got his payback when he won his fourth and fifth championship rings in 2009 and 2010.

O’Neal and Bryant will never be the best of friends off the court, but that’s OK. They totally respect one another now and have a greater appreciation for one another since O’Neal retired. You can’t tell the story of Shaq without mentioning Kobe. And you can’t tell the story of Kobe without mentioning Shaq. Like Forrest Gump said, they’re like two peas in a pod. They will forever be linked for the good times and the bad times, which Shaq mentioned in his YouTube message.

The Diesel may not have mentioned Kobe and his former Lakers teammates when his No. 34 went up in the Staples Center rafters, but he took the time to do it through YouTube. In the nearly six-minute video, he gave a big shoutout to his mom, dad, kids, the Buss family, Jerry West, Phil Jackson, his Lakers teammates, and even the celebrities who sit courtside. But he saved his best for last.

Here’s O’Neal’s message to Bryant:

“Kobe, we had a million great times and a thousand bad times. But as a doctor, I know that a million outweighs a thousand and the positive always outweighs the negative. But I understand that people will always focus on the negative. To them I say, if being the best 1-2 punch ever created and winning three rings in a row is what you call a bad time, I don’t want any good times. You were my teammate and my brother, and I’m proud to call you both.”

Here’s Shaq’s full message:

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant were co-MVPs of the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix. (GETTY IMAGES)

No matter how much they try to detach from each other, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant will forever be linked in Lakers lore.

The duo brought home three consecutive championships to the franchise and reached the NBA Finals four times in five seasons. The Shaq-and-Kobe era gave Laker fans a multitude of unforgettable moments, including the spectacular alley-oop play to clinch the Western Conference championship in 2000, the dominant 15-1 playoff run in 2001, and the sweep three-peat in 2002. Oh, they also had legendary battles off the court, which oftentimes overshadowed their accomplishments on the court. But that’s to be expected given the enormous egos both players possess.

At the end of the day, Shaq and Kobe are a part of a very important chapter in Lakers history.

Another page was added to that chapter in Philadelphia on Monday, Feb. 6, after Bryant passed O’Neal on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, moving into fifth place with just Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ahead of him. The 33-year-old Bryant, the NBA’s leading scorer with 29.4 points, has 28,601 career points – all wearing the purple and gold jersey.

Bryant said it was an honor to pass O’Neal because of their history together.

“All the battles we’ve been in, the playoff battles, the duo that we’ve been able to form,” Bryant said after his historic night in his hometown, where he has been booed loudly on each visit. “When you (consider) the championships, it makes it a little more significant.”

Bryant’s record-setting night wasn’t lost on O’Neal. The Big Fella sent a congratulatory note to Bryant via Twitter and thanked Kobe for helping form one of the greatest 1-2 punches in NBA history. Shaq’s tweet:

O’Neal retired after the 2011 season. He no longer is interested in petty battles with his old foe Kobe, and if you notice he’s going out of his way to praise his former teammate every chance he gets. Shaq is smart enough to realize that he looks like a bitter old guy if he continued his pot shots at Kobe. Bryant will go down as the greatest Laker of all time and Shaq won’t be too far behind. They may not be great friends off the court, but they’re both realizing what they brought to the game when they set aside their differences, which they did for the most part.

Shaq’s message to Kobe appears to be genuine, and he has said on several occasions that Kobe is the best player he’s ever seen. Remember, it was Shaq who put his arms around a then 18-year-old Bryant when he air-balled those two shots in the 1997 playoff game against Utah. And it was Shaq who called Kobe “the best player on the planet” during the Lakers’ playoff series against San Antonio in 2001.

The Colorado sexual assault case in 2004 drove a huge stake into their relationship, which neither man has never gotten over. Kobe was mad at Shaq for “not calling him” after he was charged with rape while Shaq was upset with Kobe for “throwing him under the bus” with the statements he made to Colorado authorities about paying women to keep quiet, and Kobe dug himself an ever deeper whole when he unleashed on Shaq in his interview with Jim Gray.

Time heals all wounds, and that appears to be the case with both MEN. Yes, they are now men not boys. Over time, they have to realize that they have to let go of the past and move on. When it is all said and done and both are long gone from the game, Kobe will realize how important Shaq was to his legacy and Shaq will realize how important Kobe was to his legacy.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.