Shaq thinks Spurs, Tim Duncan have asterisk for 1999 championship

Tim Duncan goes down as one of the greatest players in NBA history, but Shaquille O’Neal thinks the San Antonio forward’s legacy isn’t quite as great as it seems.

Duncan and the Spurs are credited with winning five NBA championships. O’Neal doesn’t think the 1999 title should completely count.

Why?

The 1998-99 NBA season was shortened due to a lockout that resulted in a 50-game regular season. The Spurs went 37-13 in the regular season and mowed through their opponents in the playoffs, only dropping two games. Duncan’s Spurs even swept Shaq’s Lakers in the second round.

Shaq thinks that title deserves an asterisk.

“I would tell Mr. Duncan this to his face: you have four rings. It says you have five, but the asterisks don’t count. It’s not a real season. I’ll tell all of San Antonio to its face: you only have four,” Shaq said on The Big Podcast.

This is the same logic Shaq applied when he said he thought the current season should be canceled. He believes there will be an asterisk for the team that wins it all, which in his mind invalidates the title.

There are plenty of current NBA superstars who disagree and want to finish the season so they don’t see a year of their career go to waste.