Shaq has never been shy about his own review of his career. Of course most NBA fans and analysts would probably agree that our favorite big man was one of the most – if not THE most – dominant center in the history of the game.
Still, even O’Neal gives credit to others from the NBA’s past for teaching him the ins and outs of being a big man that could – and did – take over the game. We’re talking here about other all-time greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.
For fans of the game, there’s no doubt that the “big man” position is the one that gets the lion’s share of the attention on the floor. Of course not all teams have a dominant big on their roster… but those that do usually benefit in (pardon the pun) big ways.
For fans of all teams – and commentators and analysts – NBA bigs have sparked all kinds of interesting, heated debates over who is (or was) the best. Each era of the game had its own great big men. It’s also true that the current state of the game has (maybe – it’s up for debate) made the big man a little less significant. What do you think? Feel free to leave your comments.
Past big names are easy to tick off for fans and game historians. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing all come to mind.
Today, think in terms of 76ers superstar Joel Embiid and Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. Do any others come to mind?
So the discussion is still on the table: Where does Shaq rank on that scale of dominant big men? As for O’neal, he frequently speaks of his admiration for the great guys that came before him. Yet, while he gives credit where credit is due, he’s also not shy about putting himself at the top of the big-man list.
Shaq frequently says he thinks Bill Russell is superior to him. But when it comes to players on a comparable level, like Wilt, Kareem, and Hakeem, O’Neal believes he is superior.
Comparisons to Kareem are frequent. Shaq recently chose to explain why he was better than Kareem and Wilt with a discussion on his “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”
So… no surprise that Shaq considers himself the most dominant player in league history. For fans and commentators, it’s a difficult argument to say Shaq was not the most dominant big man. He was a nightmare for his defenders, and he performed things that are practically unthinkable to witness in today’s NBA.
Who’s next? Well, we’ll have to wait and see. Big men are a very special commodity in today’s NBA. Every generation has its big men – and big names.