Shaquille O’Neal Silently Clears Air on Lakers Cheating Allegations After NBA Veterans’ Honest Confession

If you think the 2002 Western Conference Finals was the biggest robbery in NBA history, you’re not alone. Many fans still believe the refs handed the Lakers a free pass in Game 6 against the Kings. Even former referee Tim Donaghy has claimed the game was essentially manipulated, and some believe bad calls may have cost Sacramento around 6 points. But what many people might not realize is that Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals two years earlier is also believed to have been influenced — at least, that’s what Blazers legends would like to believe — all to push the Lakers into the Finals against the Pacers.

The Blazers had the squad to win it all — Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace, Jermaine O’Neal, Scottie Pippen, and more — finishing the season 59-23 under Mike Dunleavy. So, losing the WCF was a shock, and Steve Smith still isn’t over it. “I want to watch the fouls they didn’t call,” Smith said. “I’m still bitter about that. I tell Shaquille O’Neal that. He fouled me (with 30 seconds left). They didn’t call it. You can write that. I want to watch the f—— play, he fouled me in Virtual Reality. It was Game 7!” Well, Shaquille O’Neal might just have an answer to those allegations now.

Shaquille O’Neal quietly cleared the air without saying a word. He simply posted a video on his Instagram story, credited to the Lakers’ locker room, featuring Blazers legends Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells from the 2000 campaign. In the clip, the two open up about the long-standing “cheating” claims. Wallace says, “Ain’t nobody here but us. They don’t want us to win it, small market against Los Angeles Hollywood stars.”

Bonzi Wells adds, “We too black for TV, we’re saying everything possible to make ourselves feel better. They cheated us in our mind. They just beat us realistically.” When the host asks if they acknowledge it now, Wallace admits, “We acknowledged it but it sounded better if we just said that they cheated us.”

The Lakers stormed out to a 3-1 lead when the WCFs began, but the Blazers, led by Wallace and Arvydas Sabonis’ massive double-doubles in Games 4 and 5, clawed their way back to force a Game 7. And for 38 minutes in the game 7, Portland looked unstoppable. They built a commanding 71-58 lead and were up by 15 with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. But then, the collapse began.

Portland went completely ice-cold, missing 12 straight shots, while the Lakers’ “Diesel-Mamba” duo went into takeover mode. Brian Shaw buried two clutch threes, Kobe sliced through the defense, and Shaq bullied his way inside. The Lakers outscored Portland 31-13 in the fourth quarter, erasing the deficit and flipping the game in just minutes. “We lost this game in one quarter,” Scottie Pippen admitted afterward, as the Lakers pulled off an 89-84 win to clinch the series 4-3 and punch their first Finals ticket since 1991.

For Rasheed Wallace, the loss stung the most. Despite leading the Blazers with 30 points, he couldn’t deliver late when Portland needed him. “I blew some layups in the post, missed some jumpers. I’ll live and die with those shots,” Wallace said in a subdued locker room. Interestingly, to make matters worse, the Lakers were handed 14 more free-throw attempts in that final quarter alone, adding fuel to the allegations.

Shaq relives the iconic game 7 comeback against the Blazers

Shaquille O’Neal has played in countless big games, but when he talks about pressure, one memory always stands out — Game 7 of the 2000 WCF against the Portland Trail Blazers. “There’s many different types of pressure,” Shaq said. “… I can remember one time playing against Portland, and we were up 3-1, and then they came back and tied it. So now we had to go through the Game 7. That was really the only time I faced pressure, and then, of course, they choked at the end,” he joked, taking a playful jab at former Blazers guard Steve Smith, who was also on the discussion panel.

O’Neal was the focal point of the Lakers’ offense, finishing with 18 points and 9 rebounds per Basketball-Reference. In the fourth quarter, his presence in the paint drew fouls and created scoring opportunities. His physicality overwhelmed Portland’s depleted frontcourt, especially after Sabonis’ exit. O’Neal’s ability to score or get to the free-throw line kept the Lakers’ momentum alive.

O’Neal recalled how tense the atmosphere was when Portland went up by 15 points with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

“Phil did a wonderful thing,” Shaq said. “He called timeout, and he said, ‘Alright guys, let’s just get this game over with, and we’ll have our exit meetings, and then we’ll talk about next year. Maybe we can get it done next year.’ And then all the guys on the team had looks on their faces and the elders of the team were the ones that picked us up. Rick made some comments. Brian and ‘Big Shot Bob,’ and then when I saw my guys were ready to go, I was like, ‘Let’s just chip away.’ And we just kept chipping away, and we clamped down.”

From there, the Lakers locked in defensively, while Portland missed 13 straight shots, going scoreless for over seven minutes.

In that decisive fourth quarter, Shaq took over, scoring 9 points. “The next thing I know we were tied and then up one; I kept telling Kobe like, ‘Hey man, I know you’re doing your thing, but whenever you come, if you want to drop it off, I’m here.’ And then the last play, right before he crossed Pippen up, we kinda made eye contact and I threw my hand up,” O’Neal recalled.

That’s when Kobe delivered the now-legendary alley-oop to Shaq, who hammered it down with 40 seconds left, putting the Lakers up 85-79. Kobe Bryant finished the night with 25 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and four blocks, while Shaq sealed the comeback with his late surge. The Lakers won with 89-84, punching their ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1991, and later defeating the Indiana Pacers in six games.