After the NBA entered the new century, there are two teams that have to say, they are the Lakers and the Spurs, both teams have achieved great success, first talk about the Lakers, the team traded O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, forming an "OK combination" From 2000 to 2002, the Lakers won a triple championship, which is also the last NBA triple championship so far, it is no exaggeration to say that this Lakers can succeed, O'Neal is the biggest contributor, during this period, O'Neal not only won the regular season MVP, but also three Finals MVP winners.
At that time, the Lakers' strongest opponent was the Spurs, in 1999, the Spurs swept the Lakers, and in 2003 ended the Lakers' four consecutive championships, in fact, the reason why the Spurs were able to become a championship team was thanks to the arrival of Duncan, even Robinson said that he had prayed to God, and then Duncan came, the two formed the "Twin Towers" combination, teamed up to win two championships, and after transitioning to the GDP combination, the Spurs won three more championships, that is to say, Duncan has reached the top in three eras, and the length of the span amazes fans.
O'Neal and Duncan are both top insiders, they respect each other, look at what O'Neal said, recently, O'Neal talked about the topic of training in a show, he said that he doesn't train in the offseason, the only player he worries about is Duncan, a season is very long, he has enough time to adjust, and gradually reach a good shape! It is not difficult to see that O'Neal has enough respect and recognition for Duncan, without Kobe's help, the Lakers would never have taken too much advantage in the face of the Spurs with Duncan.
From Duncan's entry into the league to O'Neal's retirement, the two have played a total of 62 games, including 32 in the regular season and 30 in the playoffs, first look at the regular season, O'Neal averaged 36.1 minutes per game, averaged 15.6 shots per game, and shot 53.3% Duncan averaged 21.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.7 blocks per game, leading the team to 18 wins, Duncan played 38.4 minutes per game, averaged 18.3 shots per game, shot 45.2%, averaged 22 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per game, and led the team to 14 wins.
In the playoffs, O'Neal played an average of 37.9 minutes per game, averaged 16.1 shots per game, shot 52.6%, averaged 22.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.8 blocks per game, and led the team to 15 wins, Duncan played 42 minutes per game, averaged 19.2 shots per game, shot 48.5%, averaged 25.6 points, 13 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.4 blocks per game, and led the team to 15 wins. In terms of scoring efficiency, O'Neal is obviously stronger, but in the playoffs, Duncan has improved more significantly and has a greater role in the team, and both are great players.