1996-97 Shaquille O'Neal Season Thread

1st year as a Laker

In his 1st year on the Lakers, Shaq played 51 games and put up these numbers

26.2 PPG 12.5 RPG 3.1 APG 2.9 BPG
55.7 FG% 48.4 FT%

Lakers finished 56-26 and got a 4 Seed in the West

Shaq got selected to his 5th All-Star game and made All-NBA 3rd Team that season

He also finished 9th in MVP Voting

He would've easily made a higher All-NBA team and finished higher in MVP Voting had he been healthy all season

Shaq in December 1996
27.6 PPG 12.6 RPG 4.0 APG 3.4 BPG
52.0 FG% 55.9 FT%
11-3 Record

First 10 Games of the Month
28.6 PPG 12.5 RPG 4.2 APG 3.9 BPG
53.3 FG% 59.8 FT%
Lakers 8-2

Shaq won player of the month award

on 12 February 1997, Shaq would injure his knee against Minnesota that would sideline him for 2 months, in total 28 games

Prior to the injury the Lakers were the #1 Seed in the West with a 36-13 Record

Without Shaq, the Lakers still managed to keep winning but not at the rate they did with him. Lakers went 16-12 without Shaq during this stretch but would fall to a 4 seed and have a 52-25 record before Shaq returned for the final 5 Regular Season games

After Shaq return there wasn't any rust in his game, in the final 5 games of the Regular Season he put up 29/10 on 51.5% Shooting as the Lakers finished the season 4-1

He had a 42 point game against the Kings and a 39 point game against the Jazz after he came back

Shaq hit this game winner in his 39 point performance against the Jazz

Onto 1997 Playoffs, the Lakers faced the 49 win Blazers in the 1st Round. This was the start of a rivalry which saw these teams meet 5 times in 6 years in the Playoffs

Shaq destroyed Portland
33.0 PPG 9.3 RPG 3.3 APG 1.8 BPG
53.4 FG% 64.4 FT%

Lakers won series 3-1

In his Laker playoff debut, Shaq had 46 Points 11 Rebounds and shot 17/27 from the Field

This was the highest scoring game by a Laker in the Playoffs since 1969

Shaq would then drop 30/6, 29/12 and 27/8 in Games 2-4 as the Lakers won the series

In the 2nd Round, Lakers met the #1 Seeded 64 win Jazz

Shaq struggled
22.0 PPG 11.6 RPG 3.2 APG 2.0 BPG
49.4 FG% 56.5 FT%

Averaged 4.8 Fouls per game (4+ PF in every game)

Lakers lost in 5 Games and got eliminated in the 2nd Round

Game 1 he had 17/12 but only shot 6/16, Game 2 he had 25/12 but only shot 10/25

in a Game 3 win Shaq only played 17 minutes commiting 4 fouls and getting ejected (he had 11 pts 10 reb)

Shaq's best game of the series came in Game 4 when he dropped 34 pts 11 reb 6 blk and shot 12/19 but the Lakers lost by 15

in Game 5, Shaq had 23 pts 15 reb 5 ast but the Lakers lost by 5 and got eliminated in Utah

Shaq's 1997 Playoffs Overall
26.9 PPG 10.6 RPG 3.2 APG 1.9 BPG
51.4 FG% 61.0 FT%

A dominant 1st Round series, followed by a tough 2nd Round series as the Lakers couldn't get past WCSF

End of Thread