Shaquille O'Neal

At his peak, Shaquille O'Neal was the most physically dominant force in basketball history. At 7'1" and 325 pounds, Shaq combined the size of a building with the agility of a man half his weight and the touch of a skilled finisher. From 2000 to 2002, he was essentially unguardable — teams had to foul him to prevent easy baskets, and even that only worked because he was a poor free-throw shooter. The 'Hack-a-Shaq' strategy was invented because there was literally no other way to slow him down.

Shaq's three-peat with the Lakers from 2000 to 2002 featured the most dominant individual Finals performances in modern history. In the 2000 Finals, he averaged 38 points and 16.7 rebounds. In 2001, he averaged 33 and 15.8. In 2002, 36.3 and 12.3. These are not just All-Star numbers — they are numbers that suggest the game was being played by an adult among children. He won Finals MVP all three years and it was not close.

Shaq's personality was as outsized as his game. He made movies, he rapped, he became a TV analyst, he bought minority stakes in professional sports teams. He turned himself into a global brand through charisma and humor. But beneath the persona was a basketball player of historic proportions — a man who, when motivated and in shape, was as close to unstoppable as the sport has ever seen.