NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is on the elite list of athletes who have won three straight NBA titles. Known for his killer instinct on the court, Shaq was one of the most dominant athletes in the league. Under the mentorship of Phil Jackson, Diesel teamed up with the late great Kobe Bryant and they dominated the NBA in the early 2000s.

The highly talked about three-peat of the Los Angeles Lakers is a classic example of a team effort. Although there have been many revelations regarding motivating factors and behind-the-scenes heroes for the achievement, the 4x NBA champion recently credited a lesser-known entity for his three NBA rings.

How did the Lakers earn their three-peat?

The Lakers’ dominance in the 2000s started with three straight championships from 2000-2002. Statistically, the biggest contributor to those victories was the Big Man himself. Shaq won all three NBA finals MVPs and established himself as the most dominant player at the time. Several records were broken and new ones were made during those three years of the Lakers’ glory. The most notable individual record was Shaq joining the great Michael Jordan as the only player with three straight NBA finals MVP awards.

Since then, no other team has managed to achieve the acclaimed three-peat in the NBA. The Chicago Bulls (twice), the Boston Celtics and the former Minneapolis Lakers are the only other teams to have earned this honor. In a recent episode of the Players Choice podcast, Shaq made his first appearance post his hip surgery. Here Shaq talked about his “cousin Jermaine”?and thanked him for helping Diesel with his three championships in a row.

Jermaine is?better known by his social media name, Chill Town Hoops, and is widely respected by fans for his unbiased opinions and takes.

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Shaquille O’Neal reveals his inspiration

The 15x NBA all-star explained how Jermaine helped him with his guidance during the three straight championship wins. Shaq said that he never asked for tickets for the games even on the road, but he would always be at the games. According to Shaq, Jermaine would wait for him to have 2 bad games and then he would approach Shaq with his stats, pointing out things that he was doing wrong.

Jermaine would say “You on that bullsh** right now!” to Shaq and help the Big Man get in the right frame of mind.?“I wanted to thank you, cousin Jermaine, for helping me get three championships in a row,” Shaq said on the show.

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What are thoughts on the little-known source of inspiration revealed by the iconic Shaquille O’Neal? Let us know in the comments below.