Shaquille O’Neal is easily one of the most dominant players to set foot on the NBA hardwood. More than a decade into Shaq’s retirement, we are yet to witness a player assert his command in the paint like the Los Angeles Lakers legend did. To stop the 7-feet-1 Center from bullying defenders in the post, opposing teams would often have to resort to cunning tactics like frequently fouling Shaq and sending him to the free-throw line. However, players could still barely prevent O’Neal from going on a scoring rampage, even if they be the tallest NBA player ever.
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Shaq is an avid social media user. He often posts numerous hypothetical matchups on his Instagram account, including players from different eras. However, the 51-year-old’s most recent fictitious matchup was slightly different than what he usually posts. Sharing a graphic that claimed that Joel Embiid will easily be able to ‘lock up’ a prime version of him, Shaq was not-so-humble in expressing his disgreement with the take. Hours after sharing the ‘Joel Embiid lock up’ graphic, Reddit users unearthed an old clip of the Big Aristotle dominating one of the tallest NBA players ever.
Shaquille O’Neal recorded a 49/17 double-double against Gheorghe Mureșan
Shaquille O’Neal had already established himself as one of the best big men in the league by the end of his rookie year. By the end of the 1992-1993 season, the “Superman” had already dominated matchups against the likes of Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and Dikembe Mutombo, among several other all-time greats. However, one may naturally assume that a player way taller than him would probably prevent him from going on a scoring rampage. That didn’t seem to be the case.
Gheorghe Mureșan, one of the tallest NBA players ever, was outplayed by Shaq during the Orlando Magic-Washington Bullets clash on March 23, 1996. Leading the Florida side to a 111-108 overtime win, the Diesel erupted for a season-high 49-point, 17-rebound double-double outing. The 7-feet-7 Mureșan was restricted to merely 8 points in the 33 minutes that he played.
Clips of the iconic contest resurfaced on Reddit following Shaq’s ‘matchup against Embiid’ post.
A Young Shaquille O’Neal dominates the tallest player ever; Gheorghe Mursesan. Goes for 49 Points and 17 Rebounds.
by u/Therealomerali in nba
Even though he has the resume to be in the GOAT conversation, Shaq prefers to be a frontrunner in the Most Dominant Ever category. And we can see why he beats all the competition there.
Shaq regrets not surpassing Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time scoring list
Towering at 7-foot-1, the 350+ pound Center dominated both sides of the floor in his prime. Having built a stacked trophy cabinet over a near-two-decade-long career, Shaq is easily one of the top 10 players all-time.
Despite being one of the most successful big men ever, the 2000 Most Valuable Player doesn’t consider himself as a frontrunner for the GOAT debate. Instead, he has always spoken about being regarded as the “Most Dominant Player ever”. As Shaq once admitted, he has all the required laurels to be the recipient of the label, apart from one important feat – surpassing Wilt Chamberlain in the all-time points list.
