Shaq O'Neal's Out Of This World Strenght, Jerry West Reminds Funny Anecdote

The Los Angeles Lakers are a franchise filled with fascinating lore that is, in and of itself, vital to the history of the NBA. Lakers has been one of the premier franchises with all-time greats like Shaquille O’Neal and Jerry West being synonymous with the team at various points in their career.

West and O’Neal, specifically, had tenures with the Lakers at the same time. O’Neal was a player, dominating the interior en route to becoming an all-time great and winning three consecutive championships. At the helm of decision-making was West, who laid the groundwork for the three-peat before leaving the franchise in 2000.

And during their time with the Lakers together, West can recall a very specific story when he learned about O’Neal’s domineering strength. He spoke about the story on The Rich Eisen Show:

“I remember another time he gets kicked out of the game, and I go into the locker room to see how he was, and he had torn the doors off of the restroom areas that are protected,” West said. “He said to me, ‘I’ll be happy to pay for it.’ I said ‘No, No, No, you can’t pay for it, but how in the world can someone be this strong to rip these doors off?’ I mean it was crazy. But he’s a fun guy.”

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