Shaquille O’Neal is considered to be the most dominant NBA player to ever play the game. During his career, he shared rivalries against many centers and David ‘The Admiral’ Robinson was one of them. Recently an Instagram post of his dominant dunk over Robinson back in the 1996 All-Star game started circulating on social media and Shaq has some words to say for it.
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In the 1990s, among centers, David Robinson was seen as the NBA’s Golden Boy due to his hard-working and overly honest personality. Shaq, who had a more aggressive playstyle was seen as a bully to his opposition centers. To tip the scales in his favor, Shaq stated in an interview a story of how Robinson did not sign him an autograph when he approached him. He reiterated that it fueled him to take revenge on Robinson for treatment that led to the infamous dunk. The stunning fact about this statement is that Shaq made up the beef.
Shaquille O’Neal Embarrasses David Robinson on National TV in the 1996 All-Star Game
The 1996 All-Star game featured some of the best players of the 1990s. Yet the show was stolen by two giants from opposing teams who were at the peak of their careers.
During the All-Star pre-game, David Robinson was asked about how his matchup with Shaq and what his coach had advised him. He shared his strategy and also added a joke as a remark:
“He said keep that big body out of the paint. My whole thing is probably just to keep him away and try to make him shoot that jump shot. But if that big fella gets around that basket, I got a feeling that I am going to have to move out the way so that I don’t get in any dunk pictures or anything. Today, if he wants to dunk, he can have all the national limelight he wants as long as he doesn’t embarrass me. That’s alright.”
It was clear that nobody wants to be posterized by Shaq. Although the Admiral may be joking, Shaq wasn’t. Once the game started, Shaq did not let Robinson save face.
When this moment was recently reignited on Instagram, the question was asked whether Shaquille O’Neal was the best center in NBA history. Shaq being Shaq did not shy away from the moment and provided with a two-word punchline in the comment: ‘Ugghh yess’
Shaquille O’Neal’s impact on the game extended far beyond individual rivalries. Throughout his career, he won four NBA championships and earned multiple MVP awards. His legacy as one of the all-time greats is cemented not just by his physical dominance but also by the lasting impression he left on the league and its fans.
The Greatest of All-Time or The Most Dominant Ever?
With all the glory that Shaquille O’Neal has earned, he easily makes the GOAT debate. With astronomical stats in points, rebounds, blocks, and championships, Shaq is considered to be the top 10 basketball player to ever grace the NBA court. Such was his playstyle that he could dominate any era of the NBA.
In an interview with GQ, Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he doesn’t like being referred to as one of the greatest big men in NBA history. According to Shaq, there are simply too many legendary names vying for that spot, and he doesn’t want to be put in that category. He said,
“I never wanted to be the Best Ever…. There are too many names. Now, Most Dominant, My Category, is only one or two people. I am fine with that. It’s either me or Wilt.”
The ‘Most Dominant’ title makes a lot of sense as the only two people we can think of are the Big Diesel and Wilt ‘the Stilt’ Chamberlain. The list is short and will not change for a better part of the century which is the way Shaq loves to keep it. Let’s see if in the future we can get one more name on that and maybe Shaq will come up with a new title that suits him.
