Dominance comes in many shapes and forms. But, for Shaquille O’Neal, the name of the game was simple: raw brutality. That is why bulldozing through the lane and monstrous dunks from the posts were the norm for him. The moniker, the most dominant player in NBA history, became famous because of his propensity for posterizing the league’s best. However, there was a rather unique way of measuring just how ferocious the Los Angeles Lakers legend was.

The legendary Kevin Harlan would pose the question when looking at a video package of the number of times O’Neal caused the game to pause due to destroying the rim and/or the basket as a whole. “How many have you destroyed…Let’s go high school and beyond.” The answer, and you might want to take a seat for this one: “Twenty-seven.”  

When Harlan couldn’t believe the number, the 4x NBA Champion had to confirm it, claiming that he even got banned from a gym in San Antonio because of the frequency of his rim-breaking ways.

Kevin would confirm with Shaq’s former teammate and ‘best friend’, Dennis Scott. After confirmation about the same, the legend still couldn’t fully comprehend the number. With both Orlando Magic legends in the booth for a post-game jersey retirement for the 2000 NBA MVP, the occasion promised to deliver a few surprises.

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But, there is another way that the big man could prove that his tally is accurate. After all, he does have a rather unique memorabilia of those occasions.

The tree that Shaquille O’Neal built by force

In case Kevin Harlan is still wondering, the big man did something truly unique with the slew of rims he broke in his career. A tradition that began well before he made it to the league would continue when he came on an NBA floor as a rookie, eventually forcing the league into a rule change.

But, for his already monstrous collection, the 350+ pounder had a rather unique idea. Using all the backboards he shattered in his NBA career, O’Neal would build a tree calling it, rather eloquently, “Shaq’s Broken Rim Tree.” 

The orange-colored monstrosity was truly a sight to behold. Not because of its spectacle, but the sheer destruction it promised. Despite the multitude of accolades, which might be too many to count, Diesel’s legacy was built brick-by-brick, or rim-by-rim in his case, through his dominance.

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So, on a night honoring his greatness and contribution to the Orlando Magic franchise, it makes sense that that same dominance became a major point of conversation.