Battling Shaquille O’Neal in the paint was arguably the most arduous and fruitless job in the NBA. The 7’1″, 300-plus pound center was a behemoth but possessed nimble footwork and explosive athleticism, making him the most dominant force in NBA history. Retired center and Oklahoma City Thunder scout Nazr Mohammed enjoyed a long 18-year career in the NBA but had to endure the occasional misfortune of guarding O’Neal. In a Player’s Tribune interview, he listed six players he found toughest to guard. He put the four-time NBA champion at the top.
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Mohammed gave a detailed explanation of what it felt like to guard O’Neal. He started by admitting he had sleeping nights wondering,
“How the hell am I going to stop him?”
He explained that young O’Neal could be double-teamed, but in his prime, the three-time NBA Finals MVP would dish a pass to his teammates if two defenders latched onto him. The numbers back this claim. O’Neal averaged 1.98 assists per game with the Orlando Magic. The number went up to 3.34 during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mohammed added that the only way to stop O’Neal was to foul him. He claimed referees treated the big man differently and gave opposition players more leeway in getting physical with him to contain him. Mohammed said that if referees called every foul on O’Neal, opposition centers would be ejected by the second quarter.
Despite referees easing on the whistle, O’Neal finished his career with the third-most free throw attempts in NBA history. A lot of those can be attributed to the ‘Hack-a-Shaq’ tactic. But that, too, was used to stop the superstar center from dominating proceedings.
Mohammed ranked O’Neal #1 and the other five as #2a, #2b, #2c, #2d, and #2e. He suggested that the former NBA MVP was in a league of his own. Others were difficult to guard, but O’Neal was on a different plane all by himself.
Shaquille O’Neal names his strongest opponents
No center that played against Shaquille O’Neal will leave him off the list of their toughest opponents. He dominated basketball with a previously unseen ferocity and physicality. Even Michael Jordan, the greatest player in NBA history, was intimidated by O’Neal.
The Bulls superstar retired from basketball in October 1993. He tried to make it to the MLB before returning to the NBA in March 1995. Upon his return, Jordan was shocked by O’Neal’s physical development from his rookie season in 1992-93 to his third year in the league. On the Book of Basketball 2.0 podcast, Jordan admitted to being intimidated by the then-Orlando Magic star.
“When I came back from baseball – I didn’t know if ever told anybody this – I am playing against Shaq. Shaq, the biggest person I’ve ever seen play, physically. You know, he was a big matchup guy when I came back from baseball, so I was somewhat intimidated.”
While O’Neal had the size, skill, and stature to intimidate the best to ever do it, some players gave him a hard time. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, he listed four players he had trouble facing. He named Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, and, surprisingly, Rik Smits. O’Neal claimed he had issues guarding Smit because he was technically superior to his peers. He claimed that had the Indiana Pacers icon not suffered the nerve damage that cut short his career, he would have accomplished a lot more.
Smits is the only player among the four O’Neal named to hold a winning record against the Hall of Famer. However, when they met in the NBA Finals in 2000, O’Neal, the reigning two-time NBA Finals MVP, destroyed Smits. He averaged 38 points, 16.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, and led the Lakers to their third-straight NBA title. He lifted the Finals MVP award for the third season in a row and joined Jordan as the only two players to achieve this feat.
