He made his debut, defeated Duncan at his peak, and defeated Dirk in his late years, but he was convinced by Kobe!

In the history of the NBA, there are countless talented players, but when it comes to the most dominant center, the "Shark" O'Neal is absolutely unstoppable. When we look back at O'Neal's career and the opponents he has defeated, you will find out how terrifying his talent and strength are.

In 1992, O'Neal, who was only 20 years old, was selected by the Magic as the No. 1 pick. In his rookie season, he delivered a stunning answer of 23 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. This result made him known as the "Four Centers" together with Dameng, General and Ewing, who have been famous for many years.

What really made O'Neal famous was that he led the team to the finals in the third year of his career and eliminated the Chicago Bulls led by Jordan 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Although Jordan was still brave in that round of the series, he averaged 31 points per game, facing O'Neal's dominance in the inside, the God of Basketball was helpless. You know, at that time, the whole league was racking its brains to find a way to defeat Jordan, but O'Neal, who was still in the rookie stage, had already done this.

Subsequently, O'Neal transferred to the Los Angeles Lakers due to contract issues and formed the "OK combination" of the famous league with Kobe. With the two of them working together, the Lakers completed a brilliant three-game championship feat from 2000 to 2002 and established the Purple and Gold Dynasty. During that period, the Lakers' biggest competitor in the West was the San Antonio Spurs led by Duncan and Popovich.

Since 2001, the Lakers and the Spurs have met in the playoffs for four consecutive years, and the Lakers have won three of the series. Although the Spurs have two top inside players, Duncan and Admiral, they still find it difficult to show their strength in front of O'Neal. Except for 2002, O'Neal's data in the other three years almost suppressed Duncan in all aspects. After being eliminated by the Lakers for many years, Duncan even had the idea of ​​leaving the Spurs just to get rid of the fateful showdown with O'Neal in the Western Conference playoffs.

But as Kobe grew, the contradiction between the OK combination gradually surfaced. In 2004, after the Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons in the Finals, the management made a difficult decision - to send O'Neal away and leave a younger Kobe. Although O'Neal was 33 years old at this time and was at the end of his peak, he was still the undisputed number one center in the league. In the summer of 2004, O'Neal went east to the Miami Heat and fought with Wade. In his second year of joining the Heat, O'Neal led the team to the finals. In the finals, with O'Neal's strong restraint in the inside, Wade was able to maximize his personal skills, and the Heat were able to complete a shocking reversal, winning four games in a row, killing the Mavericks led by King No. 1.

As the most dominant center in NBA history, O'Neal was proud all his life, and even legendary predecessors such as Jabbar and Chamberlain had never been able to see him. But Kobe is an exception. Although the two of them had many conflicts during the OK group period, with the baptism of time and the maturity of their minds, they finally resolved their past grudges and became close friends who could talk about everything. O'Neal has repeatedly praised Kobe in public without hesitation, saying that he is the strongest player he has ever seen. When Kobe unfortunately died in an air crash, O'Neal was even more heartbroken and cried in tears at Kobe's memorial service.