Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most formidable forces in NBA history. Shaq made his bread and butter by dominating both sides of the paint. Standing at 7ft 1” and weighing around the 350-pound mark for the majority of his career, even the best defenders would end up getting bullied by the Los Angeles Lakers legend.
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Across his illustrious 19-year career, Shaquille O’Neal has built an absolutely stellar resume. His stacked trophy cabinet includes two scoring titles, an MVP, four Championships, and three Finals MVPs. Apart from collecting several laurels, O’Neal has also shattered numerous backboards and put multiple opponents on a poster.
It is only natural for a player to be on the receiving end of such a humiliating play every once in a while. However, that hasn’t been the case with the Big Aristotle. As surprising as it may seem, across his nearly two-decade career, the former LSU Tiger has only been dunked on by three players – Derrick Coleman, Michael Jordan, and Tim Perry.
As he should, the Diesel takes immense pride in this fact. During an interview, Shaq spoke about the same:
“I always take pride in saying 20 years, only got dunked on three times – Derrick Coleman, Michael Jordan, and Tim Perry… I always wanted to take pride in not getting dunked on.”
O’Neal, who is pretty active on social media, even shared this same clip on his Instagram Story.
Shaq proudly admits being dunked on only thrice in 19 year NBA career pic.twitter.com/qL59dEY28Q
— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) October 24, 2023
Shaquille O’Neal might not be the GOAT but is satisfied being the “Most Dominant Ever”
The TNT analyst has been pretty vocal about his achievements. We have often heard him boast about his success, especially showing off his four Championship rings time and again. Similarly, Shaquille O’Neal has also spoken about the fact that he’s been dunked on by only three players on several occasions. An appearance on the Knuckleheads podcast in 2021, was merely one of the numerous times he brought up the topic.
Shaquille O’Neal is regarded as one of the most successful big men ever. However, unlike other all-time great centers like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell, Shaq isn’t competing with LeBron James and Michael Jordan for the prestigious GOAT title.
For someone as proud of him, Shaq doesn’t mind not being the frontrunner of the GOAT debate. Instead, the Hall-Of-Famer has often considered himself as the Most Dominant Ever. Having dunked on some of the greatest big men ever – Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and many others – Shaq might edge out his competition and be the recipient of the Most Dominant Ever title.
