Lakers jersey history No. 34 — Shaquille O'Neal

Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary.

During the Lakers' 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years.

After Magic Johnson retired in 1991 due to being HIV positive, the Lakers went into a dry period for several years. While they missed the playoffs just once in 1994 before becoming a solid team again, they weren't a championship contender, and they didn't have that superstar who could put them over the top or sell tickets.

That ended when Shaquille O'Neal arrived as a free agent in the summer of 1996. In his four previous NBA seasons with the Orlando Magic, he had been arguably the best individual player in the game outside of Michael Jordan, and he was seemingly only scratching the surface of his potential. Once the 7-foot-1 center came to L.A., fans immediately assumed that multiple world titles were imminent.

But it took time for O'Neal to take the team to the mountaintop. It flamed out of the playoffs with a whimper in each of his first three seasons with it, and he took plenty of the blame. However, once coach Phil Jackson took the helm in 1999 and Kobe Bryant became a superstar himself, the Lakers won the first of three straight NBA championships in 2000. O'Neal won his lone regular-season MVP during that 1999-2000 season, and he was the finals MVP for each of those three consecutive titles. That success transformed him from a great player into a legend.

Unfortunately, his relationship with Bryant broke down, and he asked for and was granted a trade in the summer of 2004 to the Miami Heat, a team he won a championship with in 2006. O'Neal was in definite decline starting in his last season with the Lakers, but he remained an effective, if not a great, player for at least a few more years.