Shaquille O’Neal Once Took a Leaf Out of Michael Jordan’s Book to Comment on the GOAT Debate

The debate regarding the greatest of all time continues to tear at the hearts of NBA fans. People are unable to come to a consensus regarding LeBron James or Michael Jordan. Indeed, it’s likely to be a question that will continue to provide different answers and continue to provoke debate. One basketball icon decided to give us a different perspective, though, adding some intriguing thoughts into the debate.

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal once made a great point revolving around the GOAT debate while quoting Jordan in the process. The four-time NBA champion is widely regarded as the most dominant player of all time. However, O’Neal consistently showers praise on those who came before him, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. He believes modern debates surrounding the GOAT should follow that mindset.

In 2019, O’Neal made a guest appearance on ESPN’s First Take. The Hall-of-Fame big man engaged in a heated debate with former NBA player Ryan Hollins. Hollins’ stance resided with James as the greatest. Instead of firing back with reasons why Jordan is greater, O’Neal suggested a different perspective to the debate.

“I’ve never heard Michael Jordan say he’s the greatest,” O’Neal said. “He thought it was disrespectful to say he’s the greatest when there’s greats before him. I think we should just start doing it by era.”

O’Neal boldly claimed that it would make more sense to designate players as the GOAT of specific eras. In that way, people won’t discredit or forget the greats who paved the way for those who came after. He has a valid point, and one that perhaps should be considered more often.

The 7-foot-1 big man’s way of thinking didn’t gain traction as debates surrounding the GOAT continued to dominate the airwaves. O’Neal brought up that Jordan never claimed to be the greatest since he never had the opportunity to play against the past greats. There’s evidence that supports that claim.

Jordan explained why he shouldn’t be called the GOAT

There is a majority of NBA fans who consider the Bulls legend as the greatest player ever. Despite being one of the most competitive athletes of all time, Jordan has never supported the movement. His reasoning falls in line with Shaq’s statement on First Take.

“I didn’t play against, you know, all the great players prior to me, and those were the players that influence my game,” Jordan proclaimed. That doesn’t mean that Jordan isn’t grateful for the consideration, but he doesn’t feel he has completely earned it.

“I mean, it’s a great honor, don’t get me wrong. But I love to have played against Jerry West to determine if I was the better guard than him or Oscar Robertson, but we’ll never know,” Jordan said.

Jordan’s explanation is another example of his competitive nature. He strived to prove that he is undoubtedly the best. The comparison of players of different eras is strictly hypothetical if they never played against each other. Jordan recognizes the redundancy of the debate since there truly will never be an objective answer.