Shaquille O’Neal is undoubtedly one of the greatest centers of all time in the NBA. Unequivocally, he finds his way into everyone’s Top 5 or Top 10 lists, including one prepared by ESPN. However, Shaq’s name ranks right below Hakeem Olajuwon as the 5th best center in that list.
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In a recent episode of DJ Vlad’s interview with Gilbert Arenas, the former Golden State Warriors, and Washington Wizards star has opined that prime Shaq could beat centers from all eras of the NBA. Adding on to this, Arenas also believes that prime Shaq could even beat Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain at their best.
Statistically, Chamberlain is considered the most dominant center, while Kareem was a six-time league MVP with the most points in the NBA. This record stood until 2023, when LeBron James broke Kareem’s record with his 38,675 career points.
In the evolving landscape of the NBA, the traditional role of the “big men” has seen a decline over the years. Gilbert Arenas highlighted this shift, noting that newer players have become more dominant as the game has revolutionized. In his list of top centers, Arenas excluded Bill Russell, explaining that he didn’t possess the same level of dominance as prime Shaquille O’Neal.
As the league witnesses further evolution, perhaps, Joel Embiid is one of the only true centers to be as dominant as Shaq. He was also the league MVP last season, bringing him much closer when compared to the Diesel.
Gilbert Arenas believes a prime Shaquille O’Neal is a much more dominant player beating Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Contrasting with ESPN’s list of most dominant centers, Gilbert Arenas believes prime Shaq could beat anyone in the game from any era of basketball. He was a dominant player, not by playing brute basketball, but by his impeccable skills as a center. Vouching for the Big Aristotle, Gill said:
“No one in their right mind would say, if these guys, all matched up in their prime, not one of them would be check. No, not even close. Orlando Shaq, Laker Shaq will blow past all these guys, when it comes to what he does. And actually, he had skill. It’s not like he was playing brute basketball. He would dominate these guys.”
Statistically, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar still edge out Shaq as dominant players. However, they never had to face a prime Shaq, who was feared for wreaking havoc upon his opponent teams. Elaborating further on this, Arenas added:
“But, you know, now we’re talking about Kareem because he has the most points. But outside of his skyhook, what did he actually do? what did he improve in? ”
Arenas then spoke about Kareem’s dunking abilities, which did not quite match his skilled profile. Comparing Shaq and Kareem’s generations, Gill equated the evolution of their era’s basketball with video game consoles. Using Atari and Xbox Series X|S as allegories, Arenas equated Kareem to the classic console while calling Shaq the new-gen Xbox console. Both these consoles have revolutionized the gaming industry in their respective eras. However, an Atari console would never match the capability of running games as a new-gen Series X or S.
“You know this is like Atari. I can’t say Atari is good, if I know, you know, Xbox X and S looks like. You know, I know what these graphics look like. So its hard for me to say ‘Yeah you can beat this generation of gaming.’ So with Shaquille O’Neal, it’s like none of you guys. He will brutalize you guys. So technically, he is, he will be the number one center, the most dominant center ever.”
Summing himself up, Gilbert Arenas concluded that Wilt and Kareem could not bring the same innovation to the game as Shaq did. Indeed, the Diesel does deserve all credit for his career, given his incredible stats and figures over his 19 seasons in the NBA. Shaq made it as an All-Star multiple times in his career and won the Finals MVP in all three series during his three-peat season as a Laker. However, neither Kareem nor Wilt gave Shaq the acknowledgment and support he deserved during his playing career.
Shaquille O’Neal never received Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Wilt Chamberlain’s support during his playing career
Despite being an incredible player during his prime, Shaquille O’Neal never received the appreciation he deserved from Kareem or Wilt. In an interview with Mark Medina, Kareem revealed how he assumed Shaq never required his help. He also clarified that he was never unfriendly or rude to the Lakers center.
However, as per Shaq’s autobiography, Kareem is portrayed in a rather polarising image. Shaq wrote about trying to ensure a ‘nice paycheck’ for Kareem, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Bill Walton for a Reebok commercial. But he avoided pressing the issue with Kareem, given he was least interested to engage in small talk. Perhaps, it was rather an arrogant choice of words for Shaq to use against All-Time Greats, of ensuring them ‘nice paychecks’ just as a rookie.
