“Shaq Is Overrated”: Shaquille O’Neal Faced Harsh Criticism From ‘Basketball Guru’ Day Before Being ‘Flabbergasted’ About His 98 2K Rating

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest players of all time. However, not everyone is convinced of his status as a legend of the NBA. Despite having an incredible legacy, there are those who don’t rate him that highly. In fact, basketball guru, Bob Ryan has deemed the Hall of Famer as “overrated”. Appearing on the CLNS podcast, Ryan claimed that Big Diesel would be lucky to be even considered a top 15 to 20 player. A hot take, just days after Shaq was left shocked after learning about his 2K rating of 98.

During his 19 years in the NBA, Shaq displayed a dominance that was rarely seen. Averaging close to 30 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks per game in his best season, he is widely considered to be the most dominant force the league has ever seen. Making Ryan’s assessment of O’Neal’s greatness all the more bewildering.

Basketball Guru Bob Ryan claims Shaquille O’Neal isn’t a top 10 player and is even overrated

Recently, on the CLNS podcast, Bob Ryan, Jeff Goodman, and Gary Tanguay had an interesting conversation where they ranked NBA legends. Some of the names thrown around included the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and more. Another name that came up was Shaquille O’Neal.

While Goodman and Tanguay believe Shaq is easily a top-10 player, Ryan does not agree. In fact, the reputable sports writer questioned whether or not he is even a top 15 or top 20 player. He even went so far as to claim that The Big Aristotle is even overrated.

Ryan justified his harsh assessment by pointing out Shaq’s rebounding stats. He suggested that despite spending 19 seasons in the NBA, the Hall of Famer never led the league in rebounding. It is his opinion, that a player of O’Neal’s caliber should have been a better rebounder, even if he competed with the likes of rebounding genius like Dennis Rodman. Instead, he would rather have Hakeem Olajuwon ahead of him on the list of all-time great centers.

“Not for me… he’s 15 to 20… if he’s lucky. I mean he’s overrated. My, ‘Yeah, but!’ on Shaq is indifference to rebounding. He never led the league in rebounding. That’s just an amazing thing!”

It’s safe to say that O’Neal may have a few choice words for Ryan once he hears this news. After all, things haven’t been going his way recently when it comes to being properly rated. Especially after he was handed a huge blow with regard to his 2K rating, which he was surprised to see was only 98.

Despite being a dominant force Shaq had little to no success as an individual

There is no denying that Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen despite what Bob Ryan thinks. However, with that being said, he doesn’t really stack up when it comes to his individual achievements. All of his four championships were won with superstars like Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade at his side.

With three Finals MVPs and a single regular season MVP award to his name, his resume doesn’t stack up well when compared to some of the other great NBA centers.

Welcome to the #bigmanalliance Joker pic.twitter.com/L9nKQRKWIc

— SHAQ (@SHAQ) June 19, 2023

However, this doesn’t really bother Shaq. He has openly acknowledged that he isn’t the best center in the NBA. Instead, he would much rather settle for being regarded as the most feared big man the league will ever see.