The Los Angeles Clippers were eliminated from the postseason on Wednesday night with their Game 6 loss to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals. That means Rajon Rondo will not be playing in the NBA Finals, which ends a remarkable streak involving Shaquille O’Neal.
In each of the past 36 years, the NBA Finals has featured at least one player that was teammates with Shaq at some point in his career. Rondo, who played with Shaq on the Boston Celtics for a season, was the last one of Shaq’s former teammates remaining in this year’s playoffs.
Some of those NBA Finals, of course, featured Shaq himself. Others featured LeBron James, who played with O’Neal briefly in Cleveland. You can see the full list here.
There is no denying that Shaq is one of the most dominant players in NBA history, but the streak is further proof that he was surrounded by some great talent and key role players throughout his career. The 36-year streak may not come up right away when you Google Shaq (as he has told Charles Barkley to do), but it is definitely noteworthy.
