Back in 2015, we all learned a weird little fact: Every single NBA champion since 1984 had a connection to Shaquille O’Neal.
Seriously! Each team who won a ring — including, obviously, those Shaq actually played on — had at least one player who had been on a roster with O’Neal over his 20 NBA seasons.
And even before this year’s NBA Finals, the quirky streak would have kept going no matter which of the four conference finalists made it. We found that out late last month thanks to the crew at Inside the NBA:
This year, if LeBron James or Matt Barnes hoists the Larry O’Brien Trophy, that connection will still be alive. And it’s not all that crazy when you think about a playing career that lasted two decades and included stops in six cities.
But it’s still pretty cool.