Shaquille O’Neal has always acknowledged Tim Duncan’s greatness in several interviews. In his autobiography, Shaq Uncut: My Story, Shaq even quietly accepted The Big Fundamental as a GOAT-level player. Given Shaq loves posting old clips and stats on his Instagram story, his latest reshare was a subtle dig at Tim Duncan. Shaq reshared an Instagram reel that featured Vince Carter putting a poster dunk against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.
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For most of Shaq’s career at the Lakers, he had to face Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference. With Shaq on their roster, the Lakers beat the Spurs twice in the Conference post-season during their three-peat campaign. The Spurs were one of the biggest obstacles for the three-time Finals MVP in winning his three-peat championships.
Shaquille O’Neil posted a video of Vince Carter putting a poster against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs
Shaq is a sucker for retro like all of us and loves entertaining his 31.6 million IG followers with retro basketball clips and facts. In one of his latest reshares, Shaq reposted the video of Vince Carter throwing a poster against Tim Duncan and the Spurs during the 2003-04 regular season. In this matchup against the Toronto Raptors, the Spurs eventually emerged as the winner with a 3-point margin.
The game was held on December 17, 2003, and was the first regular season of the Spurs meeting the Raptors. Despite putting in such a brilliant dunk, Carter could only drop 16 points, five assists, and four rebounds. On the other hand, Tim Duncan had 30 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists that night. The Spurs had overwhelmed the Raptors with a final score of 73-70.
Tim Duncan has long been a favorite of Shaq and a formidable adversary on the court. The Big Aristotle has admitted in interviews that he could never break Duncan’s offense, despite his own dominant presence. Being dominated by The Big Fundamental led Shaq to acknowledge Tim Duncan’s GOAT-like status for the Spurs’ legacy.
Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan have mutual respect despite being sworn rivals
Despite being sworn rivals on the court back then, Shaq and Tim Duncan share immense respect for each other. Shaq has repeatedly spoken about Tim Duncan on Inside The NBA and credits the Spurs’ five championships to The Big Fundamental’s efforts.
During Shaquille O’Neal’s career, he faced the San Antonio Spurs multiple times in the playoffs, including memorable matchups against Tim Duncan. One notable encounter was during the 2001 Western Conference Finals when Shaq’s Los Angeles Lakers faced Duncan’s Spurs.
In that series, Tim Duncan and the Spurs put up a strong fight, but Shaq’s dominant play proved too much for them to handle. The Lakers won the series in four games, and Shaq was named the Finals MVP. Throughout the series, Duncan struggled to contain Shaq’s scoring and rebounding abilities, and the Lakers’ inside presence was a key factor in their victory.
Furthermore, even Duncan has reiterated his love and support for Shaq as a player. Like everyone in the basketball community, Duncan also believes that Shaq was one of the top centers of his time.
