The most dominant modern-day large led the Lakers to three straight championships at the beginning of the millennium, with Kobe Bryant — the last team to do so, as he points out — serving as the team’s focal point, winning three Finals MVP awards and dominating his opponents.

The numbers and records are limitless, but O’Neal’s 38-point, 16.7 rebound, and 2.7-block average in the 2000 Finals remains one of the best performances in championship series history.

While there have been many great teams since then, including Kobe Bryant’s Lakers teams in the post-Shaq era, LeBron James’ Miami Heat squads in the early ’10s, and Steph Curry’s Warriors teams over the past decade, “The Big Diesel” himself believes that no team since the turn of the century has matched the early 2000s Lakers.

“Of course, by far,” O’Neal responds without hesitation.

The Hall of Fame centre outlines what set those teams apart from all subsequent great championship teams.

“The most controversial, enigmatic team ever created,” O’Neal remarked during a one-on-one interview to promote his partnership with The Home Depot. “There will never be another one-two punch [referring to him and Bryant] that went through what we did and still succeeded. Think about it. We won three out of four, despite all of your concerns. “Show me another team that does that.”

Throughout his 19-year career, the four-time NBA champion played alongside a number of greats in addition to Bryant. Not only did he co-lead the Heat to their first championship with Dwyane Wade in 2006, but he also played with current Lakers star LeBron James near the end of his own career with the Cleveland Cavaliers.