Shaquille O’Neal Shows off Skip Bayless’ ‘Michael Jordan-Centric’ Top 10 List

Top 10 rankings are always subjective, especially when coming from one of sports media’s most controversial names. But that doesn’t mean that people don’t like to hear their names mentioned as one of the very best. That includes Hall of Fame big man Shaquille O’Neal, who recently took to Instagram to share Skip Bayless’ list of the top 10 NBA players of all time.

The longtime television personality, quite unconventionally, ranked Shaq as the third-best player in NBA history behind only Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

While the four-time NBA champion is frequently listed among the league’s best players ever, it’s somewhat rare to see O’Neal ranked as the best center in NBA history over legendary names like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, and Wilt Chamberlain. These big men were ranked by Bayless  at fourth, sixth, and tenth, respectively.

The 72-year-old also ranked Tim Duncan at five, two spots above the late great Kobe Bryant, which could create controversy between the fans of the two legends. Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon, who notably defeated Shaq in the 1995 NBA Finals, was a surprising omission from the list.

A player who received a not-so-surprising low ranking from Bayless was LeBron James. James has often been at the receiving end of Bayless’ disingenuous and baseless rants over the years, so seeing him ninth on Bayless’ list is hardly a shock.

It may be the biggest deviation from the average opinion, though, as most view James as the best or the second-best player ever, with only Jordan having a reasonable case over him.

Skip Bayless has always viewed Shaquille O’Neal highly

While it may come as a surprise for many to see O’Neal ranked so high on Bayless’ list, the former FS1 analyst has a history of appreciating Shaq’s contributions. Back in 2021, Shaq publicly ranked himself as the fourth best center, behind Russell, Abdul-Jabbar, and Chamberlain. However, Bayless chimed in, stating that O’Neal was selling himself short.

“Shaq is underestimating himself here, putting him 4th. The problem with this is are we talking about a small sample size or the whole career. Because if Shaq had taken care of himself the way Kareem did or Hakeem did or Mr. Russell did or Wilt did, they all got fit and Shaq didn’t get fit,” Bayless said.

With quotes like these, it’s understandable why Bayless would rank Shaq higher than usual. It seems he values Shaq’s unmatched peak over the longevity of his peers.