Shaquille O’Neal Drops A Controversial List Of ‘Mount Rushmore’ NBA Players Who Changed The Game

Since transitioning to the world of media and entertainment, Shaquille O’Neal has mastered the art of public discourse. The most recent instance was his controversial ‘Mount Rushmore’ list of NBA players that changed the game. The list left off a major name and included ones that perhaps didn’t need to be present.

Shaq took to Instagram to promote a post that featured a ‘Mount Rushmore’ consisting of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and himself.

As mentioned in the caption of the IG post, this isn’t a ‘GOAT’ selection of players and rather ones who helped the game evolve from the standpoint of how it’s played. The players chosen on this graphic surely would stir up some controversy.

Surprisingly, O’Neal didn’t acknowledge Stephen Curry, a figure who is single-handedly responsible for changing the way the teams play in the modern era. Before Curry’s ascension, the NBA’s landscape was quite different.

In the 2008-09 season, the league prioritized interior scoring and physical defense. Across the association, the average team points per game was 100 points. Teams averaged only 18.1 three-point attempts per game.

Fast forward to the 2023-24 season, the average team points per game is 114.2 points. The amount of three-pointers teams averaged has skyrocketed to 35.1 attempts per game. This is in large part due to Curry’s dominance in the early 2010s with the Warriors.

When it comes to Shaq’s own involvement in the graphic, there is no denying his dominance during his prime. In the 1999-00 season, he finished with 29.7 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. However, he wasn’t the first big man to dominate in the paint. There is a long list of iconic big men that thrived in the paint such as Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and many more.

Additionally, Jordan and Bryant are in a similar lane as O’Neal. The prototype of a high-scoring guard wasn’t new when they entered the league.

Julius Erving, George Gervin, Bernard King, David Thompson, and Jerry West were among the players before Jordan and Kobe that established a similar play style. One can argue that Jordan and Kobe elevated the position, but that is not the criteria for ‘Mount Rushmore,’ which Shaq shared.

On the other hand, Magic Johnson is worthy of consideration for players that changed the game. The NBA hadn’t seen a player quite like Magic before.

Standing at 6-foot-9, Magic redefined the point guard position. In addition to his remarkable physical features, he displayed the ability to play every position on the court including center.

In 1980, Johnson started at center ahead of Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals. Abdul-Jabbar was unable to play due to an ankle injury. As a result, a rookie Magic Johnson played every position en route to clinching the championship.

Shaq made controversy with ‘Mount Rushmore’ post in the past

This isn’t the first time Shaq controversially shared a ‘Mount Rushmore’ post on social media. He shared a post that highlighted the greatest NBA players of all time.

The post included Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James and Stephen Curry. The first three names didn’t raise concern from most people but his inclusion of Curry raised some eyebrows.

Curry is undoubtedly an all-time great. However, his laundry list of accolades doesn’t quite give him the clear-cut edge over guys like Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, or Larry Bird.

There is a possibility that Curry can overtake Magic by the time his career is over, but the Lakers legend deserves to be placed on this specific list.

However, the beauty of a ‘Mount Rushmore’ post is that it’s entirely subjective. Shaq’s beliefs may be unpopular but they aren’t incorrect from his own perspective.