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Shaquille O’Neal’s 5 best dunks of NBA career (Video)

By Dan Israeli

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AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks during the second half of game four of the NBA Finals 13 June, 2004 at The Palace in Auburn Hills, MI. The Pistons won the game 88-80 to lead the best-of-seven game series 3-1. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks during the second half of game four of the NBA Finals 13 June, 2004 at The Palace in Auburn Hills, MI. The Pistons won the game 88-80 to lead the best-of-seven game series 3-1. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images) /

The best dunks from the career of NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal.

In honor of the Big Aristotle’s enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as part of the class of 2016, let us wax poetic on Shaquille O’Neal’s legacy by looking back at what he did best.

Dunks!

Sure, you can compile a list of roughly 100 great Shaq dunks since throw-downs made up the bulk of his scoring in the NBA.

Here are five of the very best, showcasing his uncanny combo of power and athleticism. Also shown are just some of the victims that helplessly fell prey to becoming Shaq posters.

Also, make sure to check out Shaq’s induction tonight (Sept. 9), where he will be wearing this comically large orange jacket.

5. The Rim Rocker

Shaq is known for two backboard incidents during his rookie season, both unique in their own way. Against the Suns, a put-back dunk by Shaq caused the backboard to very slowly collapse. It eased into the ground like an old man into a nice warm bath, as George Costanza would say.

The more memorable of the two came against the Sixers, when Shaq dunked so ferociously he literally broke the backboard off its hinges, causing the shot clock to crash on his head for good measure. Shaq’s antics (intentional or not) caused the NBA to reinforce its backboards following the 1992-93 season and also penalized players with a technical foul for any future incidents.

Next: Chris Dudley, RIP

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