WNBA legend and renowned analyst, Candace Parker answered numerous questions in a special edition of the Women’s History Month mailbag for the NBA. At one point in the mailbag, Parker was asked to reveal her NBA all-time starting five. As surprising as it may seem, the 37-year-old kept Shaquille O’Neal off the list. After finding out about the same, O’Neal seemed to be in disbelief.
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Candace Parker instantly named Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry as the first four players on her all-time list. Eventually, she added Kevin Garnett to the mix while also apologizing to her NBA on TNT co-analyst Shaquille O’Neal.
Q: Who is your NBA All-Time Starting 5?
Parker: MJ, Kobe, LeBron, Steph and … Kevin Garnett. (Please don’t hate me, Shaq!)
During TNT Tuesday, the crew brought Candace Parker’s all-time starting five list to everyone’s notice. After not seeing his name mentioned on the list, O’Neal seemed annoyed. Hilariously, the Big Aristotle covered his eyes with paper, trying to avoid contact with Parker.
After acting upset, the Los Angeles Lakers legend grumbled and pointed out that Kevin Garnett wasn’t even a center. To which, the WNBA two-time MVP simply responded that she was picking a positionless lineup.
“He’s not even a center,” Shaq complained.
“In my game, we are playing positionless basketball,” Parker replied.
Despite Jamal Crawford constantly trying to change Parker’s mind, she wasn’t ready to make any alterations to her lineup. Finally, before Adam Lefkoe could change the topic, Shaq was jokingly crying, taking offense to the snub.
“Why?! Mommy, Candace didn’t pick me,” Shaq hilariously said.
While Shaq may be a more accomplished player than Garnett, Candace Parker cannot be deemed wrong for choosing the latter. The all-time starting five is a personalized list in which enthusiasts and analysts are often biased toward their favorite player. That said, given the fact that he has four championships under his belt, as opposed to Garnett’s one, it is a bit hard to blame O’Neal for being upset. Additionally, the fact that he is the most dominant player of all time really adds some serious salt to Shaq’s proverbial wound.
That said, it likely won’t take ‘The Big Diesel’ too long to recover from this. After all, being snubbed is not something that O’Neal is unfamiliar with.
Shaquille O’Neal has been snubbed before
While Shaquille O’Neal is often regarded as one of the greatest centers in NBA history, he is often been disrespected on numerous all-time lists. Due to this, being snubbed off Candace Parker’s all-time starting five isn’t the only time Shaq has felt disrespected.
Recently, ESPN released a list of the top 10 NBA players of all time. Unsurprisingly, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were the top 3 on the list. Comparitively, Shaq being ranked as low as #10, came off as a bit disrespectful to the Lakers legend. Upon seeing the list he didn’t explicitly state that he disagreed with the list. Instead, he shared the graphic on Instagram, allowing his fans to receive the message loud and clear.
Shaq has always taken pride in being one of the most dominant players ever. Having won four championships, three Finals MVPs, an MVP, and multiple other accolades, the 7ft 1” big man is one of the most accomplished players in league history. Irrespective of what lists may suggest, Shaq will always be remembered as one of the most harrowed players to go up against.
