Jermaine O’Neal: This Indiana Pacers standout had MORE All Star selections than Reggie Miller ] FPP

He went to the NBA straight out of high school right after Kevin Garnett and alongside Kobe Bryant; but Jermaine O’Neal’s path to stardom wouldn’t be as instant as the Garnett or Bryant. O’Neal would spend the first 4 years of his career buried on the bench of some great Portland Trailblazers teams with guys like Rasheed Wallace, Arvydas Sabonis, Scottie Pippen, Steve Smith, Damon Stoudamire and more. So, O’Neal would taste team and playoff success early in his career, but would often do so sitting down. And once the Blazers infamously blew a 15 point 4th quarter lead to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers where he would transition into the team’s star as they transitioned from the Reggie Miller Era, and O’Neal would really fit the bill as he earned 6 straight All star selections and 3 All-NBA teams during his 7 seasons with Indiana, which would end up being a franchise record, surpassing Reggie Miller. O’Neal along with Ron Artest would anchor an elite defense for most of those years, but after the Malice at the Palace, things fell apart in Indiana and while they would eventually draft Danny Granger, O’Neal’s best years were past him as Granger started to excel. So, O’Neal would bounce around the league the rest of his career as he would go on to spend half a season in Toronto with Chris Bosh, then a year and a half on the Miami Heat with Dwyane Wade, followed by a couple seasons in Boston alongside guys like Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Shaquille O’Neal, before ending his career with a year in Phoenix then a final season on a budding Golden State Warriors with a young trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

O’Neal’s career would end after 18 seasons, but his career was filled with adversity and heartbreak, but he would never complain and always come back strong which is why he was such a respected player both on and off the court, but one that gets overlooked as his prime occurred at the same time as the all time greats at his position like Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki. So, Today we’re going to give some shine to the career of a forgotten great power forward of the 2000s, Jermaine O’Neal.

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