Shaquille O'Neal

In 1996 O'Neal signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent. Again his contract made NBA history. At more than $120 million over seven years it was the largest free agent move in league history. O'Neal that summer won an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. basketball team.

In 2000 he led his new team to its first NBA championship since 1988. O'Neal earned the league MVP trophy and was named MVP of the All-Star game also that year. After leading the NBA in both scoring and field goal percentages for the season, he managed to score 41 points in the decisive championship game, a feat that earned him the MVP trophy for the 2000 NBA finals. With the finals MVP in his pocket, he had succeeded in sweeping all three of the 2000 MVP awards. It was only the third time in history that all three honors fell to the same player. He reaffirmed his contract option through the 2005-06 season that year.

The 2000-01 season brought a repeat of the previous year, with a championship title for the Lakers and the finals MVP trophy for O'Neal. After back-to-back championships, the Lakers in 2002 accomplished a so-called three-peat NBA championship win, with O'Neal three-peating his MVP honor.